Winged Miracle
by cocobunni
Summary: Chiaki Sakurai finds that she has to spend her summer completely alone. But to her surprise, she finds out that two guardian angels have been sent to protect her and stay with her for the time being. However, these angels are what one would not expect!
1. A Portion of Unexpected Things

**A/N: I didn't think I would upload this, but here you go! Listen, guys. This story was meant to be a manga, but I had to turn it in to a story barely a third through (Which leaves me disappointed TT^TT) That is the reason for a weird writing style and manga characteristics (for both the story and the characters.) *sighs* I hope you'll understand. =_=...Anyways, at some point in time, my writing skills faded. But I still decided to go on, for the sake of the story itself at least. So prepare yourself for crappy writing skills, I'm sorry.**

**Another thing, if you're looking for some romance, you're not really gonna get much. There's a little bit of "moments" if you get what I'm saying. But no, nothing really happens in terms of the characters getting too much into the "romance" factor. Their relationship is more of a...growing...family...friend thing, alright?**

**And no, I don't write in a proper story format. The conflicts come and go, unusually. ~This is mostly like a Slice of Life manga put into words~ But please give it a try.  
**

It was the morning sun seeping through the window that awoke her. And that was it. Her eyes opened slowly...really slow. Then finally, she blinked a couple times, and looked around the brightened room, with a disappointed look on her face. She wasn't disappointed with anything major in particular. She just didn't want to get up so early (11:47 being _very_ early to her...on this particular day.) She yawned, sprung up from the bed, and rubbed her eyes. Then proceeded to leave the room, gently closing the door behind her.

_ Hi there, I'm Chiaki Sakurai. I'm the middle daughter of the three Sakurai sisters._

She was walking down the stairs quite sleepily, having to hold on to the stairway for minor support.

_I thought that I would be living my summer scared, worried, and lonely. But I didn't think that a lot of unexpected things were going to happen to me._

She finally reached the bottom, and rubbed her dark eyes once again before looking up. Her hair, choppily layered and up to the shoulders, was a shining light chocolate in the bright, sun dappled house.

_Things that I never thought would ever happen in my whole lifetime. Feelings that I never thought I would ever feel._

"Good morning, Mom! Dad!"

_This is my story._

_*__･゜ﾟ･__*:.__｡__..__｡__.:*__･゜ﾟ･__*:.__｡__. .__｡__.:*__･゜ﾟ･__* _

The only thing that answered her was the continuous whirring of the air conditioner. "Aoi? Hana?" She looked around, wondering if she should say something else. Then she closed her eyes doubtfully and scoffed. "Wow, Chiaki." She told herself. "You know it's not really a dream. This is for real now." She replayed the memories in her mind, falling back to two days ago, early morning, near the beginning of summer vacation. She watched herself hugging Aoi tightly, and proceeding to do the same to Hana. Aoi, the eldest, was going to college somewhere far away, and their little sister Hana was going with her, because of the prestigious middle school nearby.

Her mind then leaped forward a bit, to the day after, when she was at the same airport, waving her mom and dad goodbye. They both had new jobs, even farther away.

She was going to be alone for a while. At least until summer vacation was near its end, when the four of them promised to visit her, and see each other again. But looking around at the neat, but empty house, Chiaki felt like it wasn't such a good idea to leave her alone.

Because she was panicking as usual.

"But...but...that means..." She stammered to herself, looking at the kitchen in front of her, then to the living room on her right. "But I...this house is so big! How can I take care of this alone! I can't do this!" Foolish thoughts crept through her mind and lingered there, pounding down on her without mercy. _Cleaning! Cooking! Money management! Going from place to place! Robbers! Rapists!_

"Why...?" She asked, as if her mom and dad were really there. "Why did you do this to me?" She remembered how irresponsible and clumsy she was, too. Nothing at all like the rest of the family.

Finally, she pounded her palm with a fist, and tried to look calm about the situation (which wasn't really working.) However, she was very determined about the whole manner, and grinned from ear to ear. "That's ok. There's a solution to everything! All I have to do is work hard! I can do that!"

She looked around the empty house...but her grin faded. "But it'll be lonely, won't it?"

**A/N: Ohkay. This is a short chapter. But don't worry, it's just the beginning. We'll be having some long chapters ahead, trust me. I hope you'll leave a review. Constructive criticism is greatly encouraged. And suggestions. And perhaps just...any review at all. This story needs to live - ^ -... **


	2. The Latter Half

**A/N: Yay, Chapter 2! Finally, we get suspenseful. **

The thought overwhelmed her for a little while, but she hated to start the day with a negative feeling, so she smiled confidently, concealing it inside her. "Well! That's ok! I have my best friend!" She ran upstairs and grabbed the cell phone in her room, then came back, holding it up to her ear.

"Hello? This is Chiaki!"

She paced back and forth at the bottom of the stairs. "Haha, well yeah...of course. Listen, remember how I told you near the end of school about how my sisters and parents were going to leave? Well-" Her words were interrupted.

"Huh...ok, I'll wait." She put the phone to her chest and gave a huge sigh. "Hey? You're back? Oh ok...umm...oh? You're...you're going to be in Hawaii for all of summer vacation? I didn't know that! You never told me!" Her voice was cheerful, but her face was an exaggerated grimace. "Ok then. You have to go? Alright. Bye." She closed her cell phone, and sighed again. She then looked up, another confident expression. "It's ok! She'll be having lots of fun! It's not like she means to leave me or anything..." She walked to the kitchen, and stared at the stove. "I'll start with breakfast!"

...

"No! I have no idea what to do!" She hung her head down, dramatically.

Walking up the stairs, she tried the last of her positive energy to smile. "Get a hold of yourself, Chiaki! This is all just unnecessary panicking! Let's just go and change, then go shopping for groceries and things we might need! We haven't gone shopping in a long time, anyway." She nodded to herself. "Mhmm! That's good idea!"

_*__･゜ﾟ･__*:.__｡__..__｡__.:*__･゜ﾟ･__*:.__｡__. .__｡__.:*__･゜ﾟ･__* _

Carrying large bags of groceries, Chiaki unlocked the door with her unoccupied hand. "The grocery store is actually kind of far away..." She muttered to herself. "Maybe I should have gone to the smaller one. That would've been more convenient..." But then she shrugged, letting go of the subject, and opened the door gently.

However, once she was inside, the door shut behind her, she froze.

She heard loud whispering in the kitchen. It was loud, but inaudible. Or maybe it was just her fear coming in, blocking her senses. It sounded like...

_Two people? There are two people in the kitchen. _She analyzed in her head, as she gingerly put the grocery bags down.

Cautiously, she ran behind the sofa and crouched down, her back against it. She covered her mouth tightly, scared that they would hear her breathing, or that she might scream. Fear was pouring over her without stop.

_They're burglars, aren't they? Burglars...?_

She could feel her hands shaking. Then her whole body shaking. She covered her mouth tighter, wondering if she would maybe suffocate herself to death before they found her.

_I'm frozen._

She looked around the room and wondered what to do. There was the door. There was always the door. She'd just have to crawl to it-it wasn't so far away-or she could get up and run out before they had time to notice and react.

_Do they have guns? Maybe...I can't...what if..._

The whispering stopped. A dead, eerie silence settled into the room.

_Are they coming?_

She didn't hear footsteps, but she felt like she would die of shock now. She looked down at the ground, hoping for something to happen. Good or bad, something would have to happen now, or she wouldn't know what to do anymore. She might just...

_I'm definitely going to..._

"Hey." A voice said.

Chiaki screamed loudly, but only let it last for a second, as she covered her mouth again. She looked up at the man who had spoken.

He was right in front of her, staring at her with cold, cruel, eyes.

"God, you're loud. Don't...say a word, ok?" He snarled.

Chiaki nodded.

The man, who seemed almost about ten years older than her (danger!), gave a malicious smile as he spoke. "Good girl...now, do everything I tell you..."

Chiaki felt like she was being thrust into an endless void of darkness. Really...this was happening? And it was only her first day...was she really going to...

"Knock it off. You're scaring her."

Another man, about the same age as the first one, had walked over, next to him.

_Oh great. There's another one. _

She felt a hand on hers. It was the hand of the one who had just come. He was smiling, too...but for some reason, she wasn't scared of his smile. It was...gentle, caring. She actually felt like she was almost at ease. What was happening?

His hand was warm, as was his voice, when he spoke again, still holding onto her. "She's shaking like a leaf...do you really think that's going to help, Samuru?"

The first man gave a sort of huffy breath, crossed his arms, and looked away arrogantly.

"Here, get up. Let's sit down and talk for a bit, ok?"

And of course, Chiaki decided to follow everything they told her.

The two men sat at the kitchen table, sitting near each other, and Chiaki sat on the other side.

"I'm sorry for the scare we both gave you." The second man who had appeared said. "We didn't mean to." He looked at the other one, expectantly. He responded with a hesitant look, but looked down at the ground and said, "Yeah. Whatever. I'm sorry, too." Chiaki didn't know how to respond. However, she finally thought of something to say.

"Wh...Who the heck are you?" She asked, unable to hide the feelings of shock and fear in her voice.

The second man looked at her.

"I'm Gabriel, and this here is Samuru." He gestured, with friendliness.

"And?...why are you guys here? In my house? Aren't you guys...well..."

Gabriel smiled.

"Actually, we're your guardian angels."

_*__･゜ﾟ･__*:.__｡__..__｡__.:*__･゜ﾟ･__*:.__｡__. .__｡__.:*__･゜ﾟ･__*_

Silence fell again. Chiaki wanted to laugh out loud, but she was still in some sort of state of shock, and just looked at both of them emotionlessly, observing them.

Gabriel, the nicer one, had soft, sensitive eyes to match his personality. They were both a sort of flushed magenta. His hair was short and caramel colored. It fell right above his eyes, covering his eyebrows, in somewhat uneven bangs, and stopped a little ways below his ear, where it rested at the back of his neck in small tufts. He had a friendly smile, which Chiaki found that she liked, although she kept refusing the thought in her head. He was wearing a white, collared, buttoned up shirt, and brownish jeans.

Samuru, on the other hand was quite different. His eyes were a deep pink color, and they were looking away in a mysterious, uninterested sense. His hair was piled on top of his head in white layers-two particularly full ones in front of his ears, and the rest sticking out in the back as what resembled small spikes-and overgrown bangs to match. The ends were dyed the same colour as his eyes. She could see a total of three ear piercings on his left ear, and one on his other. His smile happened to not be a smile at all. It wasn't a frown either, however. But his lips did not convey any feeling. He was wearing a greyish T-Shirt and black jeans.

They looked quite weird, but they seemed like humans.

"Do you expect me to believe that?" She finally asked them, with a calm tone.

The two of them looked away immediately, an embarrassed look on their face.

Samuru cleared his throat. "You really won't believe us, huh?" He retorted.

She didn't respond, and all that came from Samuru in the least was a small, serious "Hmph."

Suddenly, two wings from each of their backs started to sprout. They then unfolded gracefully, and flapped a couple of times, just like a bird would do. Their wings were pure white, and the feathers seemed like they were sparkling. The wings were quite smaller than Chiaki had imagined them to be, but she was still in awe.

Her jaw was dropped open. She stared, with widened eyes. She didn't know what to say anymore.

"Is that enough proof for ya?" He continued.

Chiaki looked at both of them. "I still don't...you're really...how could..." She closed her mouth in doubt of what to say. Gabriel chuckled. "I understand how you must be feeling right now. Here, why don't you make us some tea first? Then we can have a nice chat."

Chiaki finished making the tea eventually, confused as to why she was doing this in the first place. Confused as to whether this was a dream or not... "H-here." She said, as she handed both of them the mugs, then got one for herself. She decided to sit down with them again, but was a little cautious. Gabriel started, as expected. "Um, well...how do I put this? Let's start with, hi! We're your guardian angels."

"Um...yeah?" Chiaki agreed, confused.

"Haha, 'yeah?' why not a 'hello' or something back? Ahaha, just kidding. Anyways, we're both around 24 in human years. Which is not so long, it's like 24 days in heaven."

She tilted her head with a curious look, processing the strange things he had just said in her head.

"...H-hi. I'm Chiaki Sakurai." She finally responded. It almost sounded like a question.

"How old are _you?"_

"Well, I'm only f-fourteen...I'll be fifteen soon..."" She uttered, uneasy with his friendly interrogations.

Gabriel seemed to notice the emotion in her words.

"Y-you do believe that we're your guardian angels, right?"

"Well...I guess...but it's kind of...why are you here? I mean...have you...I mean..."

Gabriel chuckled. "No worries in trying to find the right things to say. I'll tell you the truth, we're really here because it's our first job. We're trying to raise to a higher rank of guardian angels, so we can actually get into the real, real, heaven. So here we are. And anyways, didn't you say you were going to be lonely this morning?"

Chiaki gave a look of disbelief. "What? You're...what?"

He took a sip of his tea before he replied. "You see, we're not really..._full_ guardian angels. Unlike true guardian angels, who were created, we used to live a life here on earth once. However, we died, and soon after we were brought to heaven, Mr. Benjamin told us that we were going to be these...different kind of guardian angels..." He looked at Samuru, who was not paying attention, and drinking tea.

"Different?" Chiaki queried.

"Yeah. If you didn't notice, we have really small wings...we can't fly...neither do we hold so much spiritual knowledge and abilities as a normal guardian angel does. We also eat, sleep, drink...all that stuff. We feel normal emotions and everything. We're mostly like humans."

"What? Then isn't that just like-"

"Hey." Samuru finally said, looking at her with bitter eyes. "No judging, kid. At least we're doing this job, so be nice."

Gabriel shot a stern look at him, Samuru not noticing. He then tried to gather himself up and put it aside, and tried to continue speaking.

"Well, we at least have our own special ability, given to us based on the way we died. It might be of help! We'll try our best!"

"Oh." Was all Chiaki could say. _How useless. _She thought.

Nothing more was said, until Samuru broke the silence.

"Now what?"

Gabriel looked startled. "Ohh...now what...Uhh..._master! _What do you want to do?" He asked, looking at Chiaki.

Chiaki looked at the two of them. Then left the table, emotionless. "I have groceries to put away. And please don't call me 'master.'"

The two looked at each other. "Uhhh...we'll help!" Gabriel exclaimed, following her.

**A/N: I have too much to explain, and no skill to really explain everything in that great of a manner. I'm****sorry...; ^ ;...**

**On the bright side, I'll learn from this. Most definitely, I'll learn from this...  
**


	3. A Soon To Be

**A/N: Aaahh, you decided to read this far? ;_;...Thank you! _~! This chapter gets a little better, at least in my opinion. Thank you again! u **

It was an uncomfortable silence that settled in as Chiaki organized the grocery bags she had brought to the kitchen, with the angels' help. She organized them on the counter, then put them away one by one. Gabriel tried to help, but wasn't able to do much, since Chiaki was quite fast at the task. Samuru, on the other hand, sat on the other counter and watched, not lifting a finger, much to Gabriel's dismay. Samuru soon spoke, as he saw what Gabriel was holding in his hands, about to put it in the pantry. "Gabriel! What is that?" Gabriel looked at him.

"Huh? These are..." He examined the container. "...Wafer sticks. The vanilla kind."

"Throw them over here!" He commanded, raising his hands up.

Without objection, Gabriel threw them over, Samuru catching the cylinder tin perfectly with one hand.

"Wait! What did I just do that for?" Gabriel said to himself, oblivious to what he had just done. "Hey, you can't take those! You're making such a bad impression! Give them back!"

"Haha, no way!"

"Maste-uh, Chiaki! Look at him!" Gabriel said, pointing.

Chiaki was actually enjoying the playful mood that she was hearing, and looked at the two of them with a interested expression.

"Wha?"

Samuru was ignoring both of them and was unscrewing the tin, hastily.

"Don't do that!" Gabriel commanded, panicked.

"Oh...no, it's ok!" Chiaki managed to say, with a friendly tone. Gabriel looked over at her, and she smiled at him. "He can eat them. It doesn't matter."

Gabriel gave a sigh of relief, as his panicked mood slowly left him. "Sorry." He said, shamefully.

"No, it's really ok."

Gabriel was now smiling too, since she had finally smiled. Samuru was happily munching on his second wafer stick.

"Haha, Samuru really likes wafer sticks." Gabriel told her, as she finished putting the last item away in the refrigerator.

"Really? They're my favourite, too." She replied. Gabriel looked at Samuru.

"Oh? That's nice! It seems as if you have something in common with him, then! That's good!"

Samuru turned away greedily, and Chiaki chuckled. However, in her mind, she was a little surprised, and not in the good way. She didn't notice herself acting so nice to them. How could she? She didn't want to be friends with these two creeps. Not just yet. "Oh...uh, hold on a bit!" She said, putting up a fake cheerful front. She walked upstairs, and up to her room, shutting the door behind her. She then locked it immediately, which was actually quite audible from downstairs. The two looked up at the stairs, surprise flushed across their faces.

"She's not really coming down again, is she?" Samuru asked.

"Yeah...I can tell."

...

He then snatched the wafer tin from him. "That's your fault! She was probably mad about the wafers!"

Chiaki jumped into her bed, relieved to be away from them. "Aawww, god." She said, in complete exasperation. "What is this torture?" She put the pillow over her head, hoping to enclose herself from the currently crazy outside world. Her voice came out muffled. "I can't tell myself 'this is a dream.' This is surely not a dream. But it's one unbelievable situation..." She sat up straight, putting the pillow on her lap. "What was I doing there? I was acting all nice to them! I shouldn't be acting nice...they're such creeps...especially the first one...Samuru...what exactly was that sort beginning entrance if he's really supposed to be my guardian angel? And...he's quite rude, too. (Although I really am ok with the wafer sticks) Ridiculous!" She sighed and slouched a little. "Hmm...but maybe..."

There was a knock at the door.

"Hey." It seemed to be Samuru's voice. She could sense Gabriel was there too. She walked to the door, not intending to open it. Samuru spoke again.

"Do you want the wafer sticks back...?"

Chiaki covered her mouth, not letting them hear her snicker at the unfitting question.

"It's...it's not that." She responded, already right at the door. "It's just..."

She didn't say anything else, but sat down, her back against the door. She hugged her knees. _Maybe I should just try to be friendly with them...who knows..._She narrowed her eyes. She was too stubborn to give in to things. But then again, it would probably be the best thing to do now. She fought her emotions, and decided she would talk to them.

"Hey, sorry about leaving and locking the door and stuff. I mean, it's a little...I mean, I can't really..." She grumbled at herself, feeling stupid for not being able to say what she really meant. She heard Gabriel speak at once.

"Ah, I know. You're just a little surprised at the whole situation...this is all a little too sudden for you, isn't it? And you can't really trust us too much...the whole introduction and stuff was...maybe, strange to you? Like you don't feel like you should be our friends or anything..."

Chiaki was still, but wide-eyes. "You got me. That's exactly what I mean...how did you know? That's scary."

"My ability is seeing auras."

"Auras?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's the sort of presence around a being...it's sort of different for everyone...I mean, it looks different, feels different...based on the way they're feeling. It's not visible, but I can see it. Some of yours is seeping a little through the door right now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, seriously. Is it ok, to come in?"

Chiaki pondered about her decision. Then hesitantly, she replied. "Y-yeah. Go ahead." She stood up and unlocked the door, and the two entered.

"Ahh! This is so cool!" Gabriel said, looking around with shining eyes as he stepped into the room.

"Ahaha, it's not so great." Chiaki said, amused with his expression.

Gabriel looked at her and smiled. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't clear before. You see, while I was still alive, I was blind." He sat on her bed, and Chiaki gave him a curious look, intent on hearing the rest of his story. "And...well, when I was around six or seven, my mom was dying of this sickness. When she finally...left, my dad was so full of grief that it kind of, overcame him. He became crazy and killed me one day, feeling that I was a useless person because of my disability."

Chiaki stared, unknowing of what to say. "So that's the cause of my ability..." He continued, softly. He looked at her now, and she could somehow tell he was observing her aura. He gave a look of worry. "Hey, hey! Don't be sad! It's ok...really! It's really amazing to be able to see the world around me."

"Is it? That's nice..." She gave a warm smile towards him.

"Ah, this is a big room." Gabriel said continuing to look around. Samuru immediately sat in the bed, and looked around at it.

"What the heck! There are dolls here!" He looked at the array of dolls on her bed and picked one up. It was a muffin plush with a considerably cute face. He squished it with disgust. "What a baby! So this is how lonely you really are..."

Gabriel crossed his arms. "Not again, Samuru! Don't you say that!" He looked down at the now flustered Chiaki. "Ignore him, Chiaki."

"Hey, we get to sleep here, right!" Samuru said, looking around at the room more, shameless at what he had just said. Chiaki blushed in embarrassment. "N-no! How could I let you two sleep in the same room as me? You guys are s-sleeping downstairs o-o-n the sofas! Or you could sleep in the master bedroom! (But that has only one bed...what the heck.)"

Samuru frowned. "Seriously? That sucks. Hey, let's go to the master bedroom, Gabriel!" Chiaki didn't expect him to say that, and didn't really want to form the image in her mind of those two managing to sleep there together. However, she brushed it off as they walked out of her room, then finally, she shut the door again. After she was positive that they had found their way there and were far away (she could tell because she could hear Samuru saying "Wait! How do we...there's only one bed!") she put her hand on her forehead. "These two..."

**A/N: Ohhh, I sense some Yaoi coming into play. I'M JUST KIDDING YOU GUYS u . This is rated K+ *O* This would be the end of Chapter 3 (Well, of course.) And this would also be the beginning of my growing doubt upon publishing the next chapters...(I'm actually up to Chapter 9 already...) Shall I publish the next chapter? I don't know. I'll probably be taking a long time to decide that...**


	4. The Way It Started A Little

**A/N: Aaaahhh! School's dragging me down, down, down! Sorry to the one's who've been waiting. I know someone's been messaging me about this :3 So this is for you! And I'll publish a couple more chapters right away for ya too! ;3**

**Enjoy! Review! I hope you like it!  
**

Somehow, just somehow, Chiaki managed to sleep that night. However, she was feeling a bit like an insomniac, being kept awake by the thoughts of the events that happened that day...and the two new people...no, angels...that she had met.

When she woke up, it felt exactly like how she had woken up the day before, although the thought of having to bear with...those two again was clinging onto her, and she really wanted to shake it off, although not possible.

She tried to bear with it, and rubbed her eyes as she cautiously opened the door just a crack. She looked around with a suspicious look, wondering if those two would be around. She saw that the master bedroom was closed, and was relieved a little, feeling (and hoping) that they were still asleep, because she didn't hear anything going on downstairs. She closed the door again, proceeding to change from her pajamas and fix her hair. She then took her bag and walked silently down the stairs and out the door.

After she was fully outside, and the door was made sure to be locked, she gave a huge sigh of relief, as if she was free from some sort of prison. She closed her eyes, sweeping the worries away, then set off on her walk.

She found contentment, as she realized how beautiful the day was. She loved how bright the sun was, as it made her feelings bright, too. Sooner or later, she wondered how long she had been walking. It seemed around an hour to her, but usually she estimated the time to be far more than it actually was. There were not many people out today, so it was quiet and peaceful. Mostly the only ones chattering were the birds atop the telephone wires.

However, that all changed.

Slowly increasing in sound, coming up from the street...was a loud _VROOM. _It almost made her jump, as it pierced the silence in the air without mercy. It gave a soft screech as it stopped right beside her. She turned her head slowly to it, a little frightened of who it might be.

"Hi, Chiaki!" Said a familiar, friendly voice.

Doom cast down on Chiaki, as she looked fully and saw her two guardian angels sitting on a motorcycle, Gabriel in the front. "As guardian angels, we have come to be by your side! It's good we woke up just in time to find out you were gone!" Chiaki gave a deep mental frown, as Samuru was the first to take off his helmet and get off, having it perched between his arm and his side. He turned to Gabriel and spoke. "Geez, I don't wanna ride with you again. Do you know how incredibly stupid we look riding together? We're both boys, you know."

Gabriel returned his annoyed comment with a playful smile. "Hey, stop worrying about it. What else would you have done?"

Samuru looked away with a small "Hmph" and ignored his question.

Chiaki stood there, watching them and wishing they weren't there. She had a weird feeling of being pursued by stalkers. Their wings were not out at the moment, and she thought of how they really seemed like normal humans. Also...

"A motorcycle?" She asked, out of curiosity. Gabriel looked at her, then looked at his vehicle.

"Oh...yes, that's right." He looked back at her and grinned. "Isn't it nice? It's purple, too, so it matches my eyes! (Same with the helmets!)" Chiaki nodded, although she was really thinking of how it was sort of unexpected for Gabriel to be the one with the motorcycle.

"Where did you get it?" She asked, stalling as she tried to think of a way for them to leave.

"Oh, before we got to you, we had a few days to hang around here on Earth. It's part of the job, we have to kind of...start it off, you know? So I managed to get this motorcycle! It was actually my dad's before. It was in his garage, and I got it out of there."

Chiaki tilted her head, wondering how he could've gotten into his house, in his neighborhood, where everyone probably knew he was dead. Of course, Gabriel was able to read what she was feeling easily with his ability, and answered her thoughts as if he had read her mind.

"Ah, as guardian angels who had lives before, we're granted the permission to enter our old houses as we please. And people who used to know us can't recognize us either, somehow. Oh, my dad won't mind either. He's on death roll in prison right now!" Somehow, he was saying this with a cheerful tone in his voice.

Chiaki didn't know what to say, and in her mind she thought _Is this a good thing or something? _

"O-oh..." She said, with a robotic tone that showed her confusion. She looked at Samuru, in a way that asked him what he had done during his "before-the-job" days.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked her, seeming more freaked out than cold. Gabriel answered for him.

"All he did was stuff for himself. He looks like a punk now. . Isn't that right, Samuru?"

"Well, at least I got a job." Samuru retorted.

"Well, yeah. I suppose I'll have to give you credit for that. You hear that, Chiaki? He's got a job as a grocer, you know!. He can earn money for us, and he can buy nice stuff for you!"

"Hey, I'm not wasting my money on her!"

"What, why not?"

"I'm getting a car instead, so I don't have to ride on that stupid motorcycle with you!"

"Hey!"

Chiaki turned to face the direction she was originally going. She decided to use their side argument, as a chance to walk away.

She then decided it wouldn't work that way, and spoke to them.

"Anyways..." She said, in a slightly loud, dragged out tone. "I think I should go continue my walk now. You probably'll be bored or something, so no need to come! Bye!" She waved, then started walking along, about to turn to the curve.

"Oh, we won't get bored! Anyways! We're your guardian angels!" Gabriel said, following her. Sammy sighed and did the same, and began walking on her opposite side.

Chiaki was feeling uncomfortable walking in between these two guys, as the sidewalk was…quite narrow. She also realized that they towered quite high above her. "Nooo way. I insist, I'm fine walking on my own."

"Stop trying to get rid of us, stupid." Samuru snapped, meanly. "I'm trying hard to actually bear with this idiocy, y'know. I don't even want to do this. Hey, Gabriel, why can't we just leave? I don't wanna baby-sit this little brat. This sucks."

This pierced Chiaki harshly, and her eyebrows twitched and came together. "H-heh...yeah, go ahead." She said, trying not to explode. Gabriel looked at her worriedly. "Don't be mad. Samuru's the stupid one. Why can't you do your job, Sammy?" Sammy shot an angry glance and turned around. He walked right on in the opposite direction, and Chiaki kept walking as well, not caring about him. Gabriel stood still in the middle, looking at both of them frantically. "Samuru, come back! Chiaki, stay right there!" And he ran after him.

After the two were out of sight, Chiaki started to run, although she was told not to leave. Usually, she would be more obedient, but her anger and annoyance got the best of her. She absolutely hated this Samuru guy, especially. How could _he_ be a guardian angel? He didn't even care. Well…not like she wanted him too, anyway. This was such a mess! All these things swirling in her mind made her more mad, and she ran more and more...until she decided to slow down and catch her breath.

When she stopped and looked around, she saw a couple buildings and fewer greenery than before. It seemed abandoned. Maybe it was under construction. However, she found a bench within a park and sat down, resting her tired feet. There were bushes all around it, and a couple trees.

She watched a silver SUV coming near, having nothing better to do, and continued to watch even after it pulled over close by her and a tall man in a business suit and suitcase stepped out.

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. He then sat down next to her and put his suitcase down. "Hey." He said. He looked like quite the young man.

"Hi." Chiaki said, a little too tired to sound so cheerful. "How's it going?"

The man looked at her with kind eyes, which showed the expression of liking her friendly impression. "Haha, I just came from a meeting. Boy, am I tired."

"Really? I've just came from...running for a while." Chiaki said, looking down.

"Is that so? Are you working out or something?" He said, with a playful grin.

"Ahaha, no. I was..." Well, she couldn't tell him. She should've just agreed. "I was...actually trying to catch up to...one of my friends! Seen anyone around?"

The man looked up at his forehead in thought. "Mmm, no...there's really not many people around here. It's cause the shops and stuff around this place are being closed down."

"Oh..." Chiaki said, contemplatively.

"So what's your name?" The man asked her with a grin. Chiaki felt that this question was rushed and it sounded strange, like it was something rehearsed.

"Y-yuriko." She lied. She knew better than this. She knew something was coming. "Anyways, I'm sorry, but I have to go now!" She said, getting up and brushing herself off. "My friend's probably waiting for me." She nodded at him with her departure and took a step away-

He grabbed at her arm. "Haha, your friend can wait a little longer, right? Why can't we talk more?"

Chiaki looked at his face. His smile was different. His eyes were different. They had a new expression to them.

"No, really. I really, really have to go." Chiaki tried to take another step, but the man pulled her back. His nails were digging into her skin.

"Stay here." He said, his voice now stern.

Chiaki opened her mouth to say something or scream, when he pulled her down strongly, bringing her back to the bench lying down. He put both his hands on her mouth, her eyes wide open. He then stooped low and looked around. "Listen." He said, with a cold, evil voice. "You don't say a word, or else I'll do something terrible. Just be a good girl and do whatever I tell you to." Chiaki didn't nod, neither did she shake her head or scream. She glared at him, angry, but the fear was also obvious.

The man took his top hand and shoved it into his back pocket, shuffling around. She saw a shining glint of an object there, but just as he was about to pull it out, someone from behind the bench sent him flying off onto the concrete with a single audible blow to the cheek. Chiaki looked up, and saw Samuru standing there, his fist clenched tightly. _When did he come? _ She thought. She then heard the sound of a motorcycle. It came quickly, and stopped. She got up, and saw Gabriel run from it, and towards the commotion.

The man got up, wiped the back of his hand over his cheek, and looked at Samuru. Samuru jumped over the bench, standing in front of a shocked Chiaki, then proceeded to run towards the man, as he ran towards him. They both collided with clenched fists, and starting exchanging blows. Samuru seemed to be winning, but the man punched him in the side, pushing him away. While Samuru fell to the ground, the man ran towards Chiaki, switchblade in his hand, and a menacing look on his face. As he raised it up and took his first swing, Chiaki about to make a move, Gabriel ran in front, taking the scratch. Samuru seemed to have gotten up already, and seeing what had happened, looked at the man with an angry look and ran to him again, head butting his back. The man fell down with agonizing pain, and Samuru walked towards him slowly with a stern cold look. He leaned down and picked him up by the collar. "Run, now." He said, almost whispering. "And don't you come back. Ever." The man's eyes were full of terror, as he saw Samuru's face. Samuru let go, and the man stumbled, and ran away.

After he was gone, all was in motion again. Samuru loosened his body and looked down, breathing heavily. Gabriel stood up straighter, and looked at Chiaki, who had shakily sat up. "Chiaki, you ok?" He asked, calmly. Chiaki looked up at him meekly and nodded.

Gabriel gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry about it." He looked at Samuru. "Samuru, you ran here?"

Samuru nodded, but didn't say a word, still catching his breath.

"So you did come, even if you said you didn't want to..."

Samuru interrupted by looking at him immediately. "It's...not...it's because..."

Gabriel gave a look of realization and nodded. Before Chiaki was able to ask, a deep red began spreading in Gabriel's sleeve, where he had been cut. "Gabriel! You're bleeding..." Gabriel looked at his arm, and held a hand firmly onto it.

"Oh, this? It's nothing. You really have to admire Samuru, though. He probably got way more hurt than me." Chiaki looked at him.

"Oh…Ah, Samuru..." She looked down. "Th-thanks…But...I'm sorry, you two. It's really all my fault. I should've…" It was obvious that her throat was getting tight, and she wanted to cry, but she kept trying to put on a strong front.

Samuru looked at her with a serious face, and walked towards her. He placed his large hand on her head, and spoke to her. "Hey, it's all right, it's all right. It's not all your fault, it's ours too. I guess I…shouldn't have said those things. And it doesn't matter if you cry or what...just...don't be scared anymore, ok?" Chiaki looked up at him, and her eyes filled up with tears, without them falling. His voice wasn't as gentle as Gabriel's...in fact, it was hard and firm...but it was comforting to her, and she was happy to hear those words from him.

**"After all," **Gabriel and Samuru both said together. **"We're your guardian angels, and we're going to protect you, no matter what."**


	5. Cleaning Day and Swept Feelings

**A/N: This is one of the chapters I really don't love...nevertheless, I do enjoy adding little fluffy scenes in here between the trio. Hehehe, I never thought the day would come-that I would be able to have my own characters to play around with and make them do d'awww things! X3 ENJOY!**

The next morning, Chiaki came down the stairs after awakening to find a fully awake and changed Gabriel at the kitchen, making something that smelled delicious. Samuru was still in pajamas and was sitting at the table, his head on it lazily. Gabriel looked up and waved with a happy look on his face. "Good Morning, Chiaki! Hope you don't mind me using all your stuff! I promise, Samuru will clean up the mess (because he's not helping me cook)...and I really wanted to make breakfast for you!"

Chiaki tilted her head, expressing that he didn't have to really, and then gave a lovely, cheerful smile. "Good morning to both of you! And thank you very much."

With this, Gabriel looked at her with wide eyes, and beamed. "There you go! We finally got you to smile! Like...really, really smile! It looks nice, Chiaki!"

Chiaki gave a small sort of "Heh," shrugging her shoulders.

"We?" Samuru said in a low tone of voice. "What did I do?" He sounded tired.

Gabriel flipped the bacon, which gave off a loud sizzling noise, then looked at him. "Ah...well, your ridiculous pajama pants may have been a contributing factor? Haha, I just didn't want to be selfish, and added you in so you wouldn't be left out."

"Hm." Samuru replied, and gave a sigh.

Chiaki stepped down the rest of the stairs, and sat down in the chair across from Samuru, who was looking to his side, at Gabriel, boredly. She noticed that their wings were out at the moment, fluffy and white, and Gabriel's fluttered once in a while. She stared at them in deep interest.

"Staring at Gabriel's wings?" Samuru asked. He didn't even sound like he was trying to start a friendly conversation.

Chiaki nodded slowly. Gabriel turned his head, while pouring pancake batter onto another pan. "Eh? You're looking at my wings?" He asked, with a sort of flattered tone.

"Yeah," Chiaki said, still looking at them. "They're nice and cute...and they look fluffy. They look nice when they flutter."

Gabriel chuckled. "Oh, ahaha. I do that when I'm happy or contented, you see." He shot another smile, then continued cooking. She looked at Samuru.

His wings were not fluttering. He looked at her. "Hey, why they're so small?" She asked, not liking to stare at Samuru awkwardly for a long period of time. His eyes were very direct and stony.

"It's cause...we're so low on the guardian angel chain." Samuru said, knocking the table a bit as he spoke, for his chin was placed on top of it.

"What?"

"Y'know, the whole deal about us being humans before. Guardian angels aren't usually born humans y'know." He sounded like he was offended with her question. "Well, they'll grow soon. Probably."

He stared at her, which she found creepy, especially because his eyes were tired and dull at the moment. She slowly looked away, wondering what was going on in his head, but was saved by Gabriel turning off the stove and putting three plates full of food onto the table.

"Finished!" He said, enthusiastically. "Go ahead and eat!" He pulled a chair over and sat down to eat, too. Once the sent of the food trickled into Samuru's nose, he sprang up, finally full of life, and started eating vigorously.

Gabriel laughed at him, and helped himself to a serving of pancakes. Chiaki did, too, after he had finished.

Chiaki took small bites, and chewed quite slowly, savouring the flavour. "Ahh!" She said enthusiastically after she had swallowed. "You cook really well, Gabriel!" Gabriel chuckled.

"Is that so?...haha, then thank you! Very much!"

Chiaki responded with a gleeful nod.

Samuru continued eating messily. He seemed content. This gave Chiaki the idea to try to talk to him...get on his good side. "You seem to like Gabriel's cooking a lot, too!" She said, trying to sound friendly.

Samuru looked at her, bacon still in his mouth...he then chewed it and swallowed hastily so that he could answer, almost choking. "Um...well...yeah, I guess." He said, looking down. He seemed to not want to admit it. Gabriel grinned and patted his back. Samuru continued eating, although he looked a bit sheepish now.

"So, what do you plan on doing today, Chiaki?" Gabriel asked her after a while, dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

Chiaki looked up at her forehead in contemplation. "Oh...well I planned on staying inside today...actually, I planned on cleaning the whole house. Y'know...start off nice for the summer." Gabu nodded.

"Ahh! Good idea! I'll help you! So will Samuru!"

Samuru looked up at him. "Aw, why cleaning? I don't wanna…" He said, his tone dragged out.

Gabu frowned. "Samuru...you _have_ to...well you don't really but...well...please?" He was being troubled with his words. Not necessarily because he was scared of Samuru, but because he was sad with how he was acting, and wanted him to be nice.

"Hmph."

"Oh...uh, it's ok! I can do it by myself! It's my house, anyway..." Chiaki said, trying not to have another fight in the middle of breakfast.

"No! I really mean it, Chiaki. I'll help you! It's such a big house, anyway..." Gabriel insisted. Chiaki gave him a look of consideration.

Samuru then looked at her. Then, rolling his eyes, he said, "Aw, alright...I have nothing better to do anyways...I'll help..."

Gabriel stood up straighter in excitement. "Really Samuru? Yay! I'm so proud!"

It started with Samuru washing the dishes. Chiaki went upstairs to change into "working clothes"...which was apparently just an old T-Shirt, shorts, and a bandana around her nose and mouth...this was because she started with the sweeping of the kitchen floor and vacuuming every inch of the carpets.

Gabriel started with cleaning of the mirrors, windows, and counters. He was working hard, with concentration written across his face. As he was scrubbing the kitchen counters, he looked at Chiaki, working as hard as he was. "You're good at this, Chiaki!" He said, happily. "And that outfit looks nice on you! Like a hard worker!"

Chiaki smiled, although uncomfortable with him saying that just a bit. However, she commented on how well he was working too, and continued her job.

Soon, in the middle of vacuuming, she decided she would move all the furniture, so she could get to the hard-to-reach areas. Samuru decided to help her with this, although Chiaki very much thought she could do it herself. "You're so small." Samuru said, bluntly. "We don't even have to move the furniture that much for you to reach behind them."

Chiaki gave a dissatisfied look at him. "Hey!" She said. "That's mean!" She continued cleaning, not wanting to look at him. Samuru scoffed. "You're really, really small. You're like five feet. Sucks for you." Chiaki gave a sort of "Psshh!" as she finished up her cleaning. Samuru laughed, pleased with his teasing, and waited so that they could move on to the next piece of furniture.

Samuru then did his own job of taking out the trash, while Chiaki decided to clean her room. Gabriel was now scrubbing in the bathrooms.

All the windows were open, allowing fresh air to enter the house, which was now full of dust scattering around and the smell of cleaning chemicals.

As Chiaki was vacuuming the corners of her room, she smiled. She actually enjoyed this, and it was nice to have people helping too.

Gabriel scrubbed the last bit of stubborn dirt out from the corner of a bathroom counter, and nodded confidently in triumph. However, his mood was short-lived, when he heard a scream coming from Chiaki's room. He ran quickly to her and stopped at the doorway, and Samuru came soon after.

"A-are you ok?" Gabriel asked, worriedly.

Chiaki was curled up in her bed, looming over the edge and looking over at the floor, terrified. Samuru came in without hesitation, and saw a small spider crawling around. "God." Samuru said, annoyed with her. He left for a short while, and then came into the room with a small piece of tissue. He smashed it mercilessly, which made Chiaki back away, giving a small whimper. Chiaki was scared that he would scare her with it by holding it up to her face, but surprisingly, he just left and threw it away. Gabriel looked at him, strangely pitiful, but then looked at Chiaki, even more pitiful. "Are you ok, Chiaki?" Chiaki nodded, not really ok. "You're such a wimp, Chiaki!" Samuru yelled from the hallway.

After Chiaki finished her room, she decided to do the laundry. Dragging a large hamper to the laundry room downstairs, she found Gabriel eagerly trying to dust the fan. She tapped him lightly on the back, making him almost drop the long duster, and turn around, surprised. "Huh? Oh, hello Chiaki!"

"Eh...do you have any clothes that need to be cleaned? I'm going to do the laundry now." She said, wondering if she should have disturbed him or not.

"Oh!" Gabriel said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand thoughtfully. "Ah, I only have the shirt from yesterday. It's up in the master bedroom. Thank you!"

Chiaki nodded. "Alright. I'm going upstairs now. Y'know…you can call it your room now, if you'd like."

Gabriel smiled. "Really? Thank you very much!" He turned around to try helplessly to get the dust off from the top of the fan.

Chiaki trudged up the stairs, the hamper dragging along beside her. She pushed the master bedroom door open and stepped inside.

The first thing she observed was the extra mattress on the floor. They probably found it in the closet somewhere.

_I see. _She said to herself, relieved. _That's how they both sleep in here. _

She then heard movement coming from nearby. She stepped further into the room and saw Samuru, cleaning the sink half-heartedly in the bathroom. He looked up at her curious face. "What do you want?" He asked in a rushed tone.

"Uh..." Chiaki said, nervously. It was very hard to speak with him. "I just...needed any clothes that need washing..."

Samuru gave an angst-filled sigh. "There's a shirt and a pants on the mattress. If not, there, it's probably lying around somewhere."

"Ok then. Do you sleep on the mattress?" She asked him.

"No, Gabriel does. It's just that I'm messy. Why do you wanna know anyways, stupid? Being a little nosy there, are we?"

Chiaki glared at him. "Apparently not. I was just curious. God."

She turned away and looked around the mattress, finally finding his clothes nearly under it. "Boys." She muttered, under her breath. "Let's hope this room doesn't get messier than this." She then narrowed her eyes at the thought of the conversation that she just had with Samuru. _That idiot. _She thought. _Who is he to act like that, anyways?_

She then shook her head and threw the wrinkled clothes in the hamper, proceeding to walk downstairs. _Please don't tell me I'll have to get _used_ to this!_

The cleaning actually lasted for longer than they had all expected. It was already almost late afternoon when they were all finished. Chiaki sat down on the couch and gave a sigh, as Gabriel put the cleaning utensils away, contently. Chiaki was happy that everything was finally finished...the house felt refreshing and almost brand-new. She then faced the dilemma of what they were going to eat for dinner. They of course would need something soon...they had all skipped lunch. As the worry fell upon her, Samuru sat on the couch across from her, then lying down on his back. "Aw, man. That was some hard work. How could you make us do that?" He told her, childishly.

"Hey." Chiaki shot, offended. "It's only once. Because we did so much, we probably won't have to be doing this for a long time."

"Hmph." Samuru huffed, in a defiant tone. "I don't believe you."

Gabriel entered the room, chipper. "Stop complaining, Samuru. You didn't even help so much." He put his hand on the arm of the sofa and leaned over. "And it's pretty much time to eat, anyways. Hey, Chiaki! Got any cooking skills?"

Chiaki looked down embarrassed, and shook her head.

Samuru snickered. "Haha. How is she supposed to live in this house when she doesn't even know how to make food for herself? You're so lucky to have us!"

Chiaki looked away and hunched her shoulders, feeling more embarrassed.

Gabriel noticed this and patted her back. "Hey, it's ok Chiaki! Samuru and I will teach you!"

Samuru looked at him, appalled. "Ohhh no I won't! I'm not teaching that little girl anything, anytime! I'm going to take a shower now." He stood up casually and walked up the stairs.

Gabriel watched him dissapointedly, but shook his head. "Fine. I'll teach you!" He confirmed.

Chiaki looked up at him and nodded. Secretly, she was happy that Samuru didn't have to teach her.

"Good job on boiling the water, Chiaki! Now just pour the pasta in!"

"Kay!" Chiaki did as she was told, wiping her hands on her apron after throwing the emptied box away.

_This is actually one of my first real cooking lessons. And to think it would be from some angel guy who I don't even know that much yet._

Now, Chiaki finally wondered if she was sane.

"Chiaki? Did you hear what I just said..."

Chiaki snapped out of it and stood straight. "Yes, sir?" She answered, comically.

Gabriel laughed. "I said we need another pan. Where do you keep them?"

"Oh! Ah, I'll get it myself, don't worry!" She walked over to the dishwasher and took out a medium sized pan, which still had a couple of droplets scattered around it. "Is this good?"

"Perfect! Now let's heat it up!"

Chiaki heated it up, then looked at him expectantly. Gabriel seemed not to mind. "Hmm...let's cook some vegetables! Onions and mushrooms will do, don't you think?" Chiaki smiled.

"I think that's a good idea!"

"Alright, oil first!" He gave her a bottle of oil. "Pour some of it in..."

She nodded firmly and stepped towards the stove. Carefully, she poured some oil in, which sizzled loudly once it touched the pan. "Ah!" She said, startled. She instantly backed away, as drops of oil jumped from the pan. She almost stumbled, but Gabriel caught her by the shoulders.

"Eh? Chiaki? Don't worry!" He started chuckling.

She blushed, embarrassed...but managed to tilt her head backwards and look up at him with a smile.

The rest of the cooking went well...it would've been better if Chiaki hadn't kept freaking out at the heat and loud sizzling sounds, but altogether, it went...well.

Samuru came downstairs just in time, a small towel around his neck and his hair wet. "Urgh, that was some cooking session you had, wasn't it." He said, in a low voice, as he pulled out a chair and sat down, his elbows on the table.

"Yup!" Gabriel agreed.

Chiaki did nothing but nod. She then got out the plates quickly, and poured equal servings of pasta into each, then deciding to secretly give Samuru less, out of despisement.

They all ate contently. Chiaki, however, first waited for the two of them to take a few bites, expecting critique. Gabriel soon realized this, and gave her a thumbs up. "It's wonderful for your first try!" He said, delighted.

"Thank you!" She said, then observed Samuru. He looked up at her, then swallowed. "Too much salt."

Chiaki scorned him in her mind, and was happy she gave him less. She returned his comment with a grouchy expression, but started to eat.

However, although she felt the new presence of people at the dinner table quite strange, she couldn't help but feel some sort of good feeling, like she was pretty happy now.


	6. Differences and New Lights

**A/N: Um...I hope you like this chapter! R&R!**

A knock came at Chiaki's door, as she was in the middle of sending an e-mail to her sisters. "Chiaki? Are you up?" It said. She could obviously tell now that it was Gabriel.

"Yeah." She replied, not inviting him to come in, for she wanted to type the e-mail in private.

"You know there's a fair that just opened recently! It seems like fun, so we're wondering if you want to go?"

Chiaki typed another sentence, about to reply after she finished it, but Gabriel spoke again. "Oh yeah, and Samuru's paying, 'cause he did the least cleaning yesterday!" By his tone, she could tell he was pleased with what he said.

"Seems good! When are we leaving?" She asked, as she typed. She was always quite skilled at it.

"Hmm...around 1:30 maybe! Eat the lunch that I made first, though, ok? We can stay as long as you want! Is that ok?"

"Uh...yeah! I'll be out in a sec!" She checked the time on the computer. It was almost 11:30. "Hmmm...I think I'll go take a shower first before we leave." She suggested to herself. She then finished typing one more sentence, then got up and left the room, deciding to finish it later. The screen showed the words:

_"Right now, it's quite fine, so don't worry about me. Many...unexpected things happened..._

_ But it's ok. I'm alright._

"You take a long time to get ready. Even longer than Samuru!" Gabriel told Chiaki.

He was speaking quite loud, for the motorcycle carried away their voices. Chiaki clutched tightly onto the back of Gabriel's shirt, as she sat behind him. They came to a red light.

"Hmm...I feel bad for Samuru. He doesn't get any transportation, and the fair seems a little far away." She said to him.

"Oh, well he seems to be fine with it. He probably took a taxi or something. He'll get a car soon when he gets enough money though, so don't worry about it." The light turned green, and he speeded up a bit. "I'd let myself be the one without transportation instead, but he probably would refuse letting you ride with him."

Chiaki sighed. "Oh..." She watched cars go by, and a couple taxis, wondering if Samuru was in one of them. "Does Samuru hate me?" She finally asked.

She felt Gabriel tense a little at the question. "Mmm...I'm sure he doesn't really. He just acts that way."

"Why?" She asked, casually. She really wanted to know why Samuru was that way. She was sure she never did anything really mean towards him.

"Why? Well..." He leaned over to turn. "He's…just weird. If you get to know him better, you'll find out that he's actually a pretty good guy. He's not the best at expressing himself is all."

Chiaki slumped a little. She wondered what he meant by that. What was he trying to express?

The thought left her mind soon, however, when she had the first glimpse of the fair.

"Wh-wh-whoaaahhh!" They both exclaimed, taking a deep breath and looking at it. It was pretty huge.

Gabriel then started chuckling like he hadn't even said anything in awe at the fair. "Eh? Why are you laughing at me?" Chiaki whined, not understanding what was so wrong with being amazed at a such a beautiful sight.

"Hey, hey. It's nothing at all!" Gabriel assured her, comfortingly. "It's just...I can feel your aura...It's all light and fluffy!" He started chuckling again.

Chiaki smiled at him, although he wasn't looking at her, and tightened her grip on his shirt. They finally parked, and Chiaki jumped off, hanging her helmet on the handlebar as Gabriel did.

"Do you have a cell phone, Chiaki?" Gabriel asked, as soon as they were both off.

"Huh? Yeah, why?" She asked him.

"Oh, it's because we need to call Sammy."

Chiaki took her cell phone out of her bag. "He has a cell phone?" She didn't want to call him, actually...

"Aha, yeah. And I don't have one. He's the one making the money, anyway. I can't take money out of my parent's bank account, because my dad's still alive. Samuru's pretty much the one who'll supply us. Sorry."

"Oh..." Chiaki said, contemplatively. She flipped her cell phone open, and was about to ask if Gabriel was going to call, when he spoke.

"Let's see if I can remember the number..." He said, almost only to himself. "Ah! I know, it's 264-743-45...7...1!" Chiaki gave a mental sigh as she punched in the numbers. She didn't want to talk to him.

"That's a good memory you have." She told him, as she pressed the call button and held the phone up to her ear.

"Thanks!"

"Wait, what am I supposed to say?"

"Ask him where he is!"

"Alright..."

They waited a bit in silence, as the dial tone went on. Finally, a click noise was heard, and a low voice spoke. "Hello?"

Chiaki shuddered at his voice. She prepared herself for any of his rude remarks. "H-hey...it's Chiaki. Where are you right now?"

"Oh, I'm still in the taxi, hold on I'm really near." Chiaki waited, surprised he didn't say something like "Why do you care?" like she expected him to. The silence lasted for only a quick while, and he spoke again. "Waaiiitt...waiittt...oh, there. I see you guys. Hold on." A click was heard, indicating that he had hung up, and Chiaki closed her phone and turned to Gabriel.

"He's coming."

Just then, as she dropped her phone into her bag, a taxi came by and stopped at them. Samuru came out, and put his hands in his pockets. He looked at the two of them and gave a small smile. It wasn't full of happiness, but it wasn't so strange and unexpressive either. Chiaki tried to stop herself from widening her eyes at this.

"Well, let's go then." Samuru stated. He turned around and started walking.

As they stood a little ahead from the entrance of the fair, Chiaki stared at everything that was going on, completely enthralled. Gabriel was actually even more amazed than her, taking in each ounce of everything that there was to see. "This is so amazing!" He said, looking around even more. "Everything looks so fantastic! I've never seen anything like this!" Chiaki heard complete excitement in his words. She remembered of his past life, and that he had never really seen much. "I sense so many warm, wonderful auras all around! It feels great!" He then turned towards Samuru, who was reading the small catalogue of events and such that were in the fair. "Even your aura is kinda warm, Samuru!" Samuru looked up at him.

"Hey, don't go saying those things..." He didn't sound so mad. "Anyways, what do you wanna do first?"

Gabriel didn't answer, but instead looked at Chiaki, with the obvious look of wanting her to make the decision. Chiaki felt it was unnecessary to keep asking her for everything, but thought it would be offensive to a guardian angel doing his job to say something against it...

"Uh...you guys probably don't wanna go on rides or anything, so why don't we check out some exhibits!"

"Ok!" Gabriel exclaimed, clearly happy with anything that they were going to do. Samuru folded up the paper, and put it in his pocket. They all set off.

"Awwww...such a big bunny!" Chiaki pointed out, staring at the large ball of fluff hopping around with droopy ears. Gabriel leaned over next to her and watched it, too, with a chuckle. Samuru was watching the chickens walk around, cocking their heads. He actually didn't seem so disinterested. Chiaki kept walking around every area in the animal exhibit. She soon found a medium sized, auburn coloured fox. She crouched down and watched it as it only moved slightly in its sleep. Samuru came over next to her, as Gabriel went to go watch a turkey. "It's so cute!" She said, softly, wondering if the fox would wake up if she spoke too loud. Samuru grinned.

"Hehe. Yeah, it's pretty cool."

His friendliness surprised her.

After visiting many other exhibits, they all watched an outdoor show together. It was a hypnotism comedy, and they all found it was pretty funny, although Gabriel had to cover Chiaki's eyes at some parts, being in an apparent motherly mode.

They then went to snack on pretzels, then watched two more shows. After, Samuru and Gabriel decided to play games against each other, while Chiaki decided to look at all the nice things to buy. There was even a cute fox hat, and she couldn't resist the temptation to buy it, after remembering the cute fox that she saw earlier.

They all met up again later, Samuru now holding a big bag of toys that he had won, along with a couple small ones that Gabriel won, too. She showed them her new hat, which Samuru suggested she wear. She refused, a little embarrassed to, and with that, Gabriel suggested that he wear it. For the rest of their activities he was wearing the hat proudly.

Their stay at the fair actually took longer than expected, as they had done all sorts of things...from games, to eating, to watching contests, to competing in contests (that was Gabriel), to going to the fountains and getting splashed a bit, actually going on rides, and a variety of other things. Chiaki had a wonderful time, as did Gabriel, and noticed how Samuru wasn't even saying anything mean to her at all that day, except for the occasional playful teasing.

They soon decided that they were going to leave soon, as the sun had started setting slowly, but Chiaki insisted that she wanted to go to one more ride...

"The Ferris Wheel?" Samuru asked when she brought it up.

"Mhmm!" She answered, looking up at it.

"Ok." He said, with a tone that said that he actually thought it would be nice to go, too.

They all started walking, Gabriel nearer to her. "Hey," He said, as they were nearing it. "is it because you really like the Ferris Wheel or something?"

Chiaki looked up at him. "Huh? Oh, well yeah. Kinda. I just really like the feeling you get when you're up there...it's just...it's, well, hard to explain."

Gabriel nodded his head slowly. "Ohh...is that right? I went on a Ferris Wheel once when I was young. Of course, I didn't know how it looked like from up there at first, and I didn't even know we went that high up! Ahaha, this makes me excited!"

Chiaki giggled, and looked over at Samuru. "Yeah, it's pretty high…" He admitted, looking up at it.

They soon got onto the Ferris Wheel, and sat down. Chiaki and Gabriel sat on one side, and Samuru sat on the other, out of his own decision, actually. He crossed his arms, but looked intently out the window as it started.

Chiaki and Gabriel watched, too. As they went higher and higher, everything looked absolutely stunning, with the setting sun's colour reflected on everything and everyone. You could see all sorts of people, doing all sorts of things, like small ants scurrying around. Gabriel's eyes seemed to go a little hazy as he smiled and watched everything from up above. "It's really pretty, Chiaki...seriously. I'm so glad I'm able to see all these things."

Chiaki took in his words. She thought of how lucky she was to be able to see things all her life. Somehow, this thought made her see everything even more beautiful than she first saw them. Her heart seemed to race with all the feelings.

"Yeah..." Samuru said, suddenly. "Chiaki, you know what you said? About the feeling you get when you're on a Ferris Wheel?"

Chiaki looked at him, as he was looking out the window, gazing at everything as they became farther from the ground. "Mhmm..."

"I think I understand what you meant. It's…nice."

They reached the very top, having one of those occasional stops so that someone at the bottom could get off. When in stopped, everything seemed to stop for Chiaki.

Her eyes widened at his words. At the moment. At the feeling...

She had never seen this side of him yet. And it seemed like he was a different person. The way his eyes kept looking down at the ground...down, down, down at everything. How focused they were...and how they were taking in everything like the moment would die right away.

"Hey, Samuru." She said.

He, along with Gabriel, looked over at her.

"What is it?" He asked, hesitantly.

"...sit with us."

She smiled comfortingly after she said this, along with Gabriel, and they both looked at him, as he stared at the reasonable amount of empty space beside Chiaki. This offer seemed to bring him at a loss for words...or a loss of a way to deal with the situation, for that matter. He clearly didn't know what to do.

However, finally, he stood up and sat down beside her, and the Ferris Wheel started again, him continuing to look out the window.

It was already dark when Chiaki and Gabriel rode home. Chiaki gave a huge sigh. She thought of how fun everything was, and how many new things she experienced. "I will never forget this day!" She breathed, watching as the lit up fair became smaller and smaller.

"Hehe, that was fun, wasn't it?" Gabriel told her, as he looked out at the crowded street ahead of him. He apparently was still wearing the fox hat. He had never taken it off since.

"Mhmm. Thank you for taking me!"

Gabriel smiled endearingly. "You're welcome, but be sure to thank Samuru, too. He mostly paid for everything."

"Aw yeah, Samuru too, of course." She looked back. The fair was now just a small bunch of tiny lights. "He was different today, y'know?" She told him, almost more quiet than she usually spoke. "It wasn't bad or anything...it was sorta...nice!"

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah...didn't I tell you, he was a nice guy?"

"Mhmm...but it was...really, really different. A little weird...and, well...different..."

Gabriel laughed. "It's kinda hard to describe him, now isn't it? Don't worry...he must be having a hard time, too."

"Huh?" Chiaki inquired, confused at his statement. "With what?"

Gabriel speeded up a little, as the highway cleared. "Well, sorting out his feelings and such. Maybe. He's sort of an...unsure person...and he's got a lot inside, y'know?"

Chiaki wasn't quite sure of what he meant, but shrugged it off.

Meanwhile, in the bus Samuru took, he was staring out the window, watching the fair fade away. He gave a soft sigh and closed his eyes peacefully.

* * *

**Chapter 6.5: What Is It Now?**

When Chiaki came home, she immediately thanked the two of them and went upstairs. After shutting her door, she immediately went straight to the computer and finished her message to her sisters.

After the screen clearly read "Sent", she turned it off and collapsed onto the bed, without even changing her clothes. She slept soundly for the rest of the night.

_"Hi there, Aoi, Hana._

_ How is everything? Is college fun or is it hard? How is the school, Hana? Do you think it's the right one?_

_ Aha…or is it too early to be asking these questions…_

_ I hope you've both settled in by now, and that you're doing well. I hope your days will pass by without worries, and you'll be happy._

_ As for me…_

_Right now, it's quite fine, so don't worry about me. Many...unexpected things happened already..._

_But it's ok. I'm alright._

_Huh…Well actually, It's a different kind of feeling. Maybe… like I'll be having a good time this summer._

_ Again, don't worry about me. _

_ ~Chiaki"_


	7. All New Things

_A/N: *WHOOSH* I'm back everyone! FINALLY! Oh my goodness, I am so sorry about not posting. I have a single beloved fan who has been trying to be patient :) You know who you are. I'm posting a couple for ya~! ENJOY! _

_Oh yes, there is a 6.5! Heehee._

**Chapter 6.5: What Is It Now?**

When Chiaki came home, she immediately thanked the two of them and went upstairs. After shutting her door, she immediately went straight to the computer and finished her message to her sisters.

After the screen clearly read "Sent", she turned it off and collapsed onto the bed, without even changing her clothes. She slept soundly for the rest of the night.

_"Hi there, Aoi, Hana._

_ How is everything? Is college fun or is it hard? How is the school, Hana? Do you think it's the right one?_

_ Aha…or is it too early to be asking these questions…_

_ I hope you've both settled in by now, and that you're doing well. I hope your days will pass by without worries, and you'll be happy._

_ As for me…_

_Right now, it's quite fine, so don't worry about me. Many...unexpected things happened already..._

_But it's ok. I'm alright._

_Huh…Well actually, It's a different kind of feeling. Maybe… like I'll be having a good time this summer._

_ Again, don't worry about me. _

_ ~Chiaki"_

* * *

The next day seemed to be an inside day for the three of them. Surprisingly, they were all still a little tired from the fair yesterday. Chiaki stayed in her room, listening to music and staying on the computer. Gabriel eventually asked if he could come in, and she let him read her old books and magazines on her floor. Samuru spent the majority of his time working at the grocery store, then when he came home in the early afternoon, he watched TV.

Not so much happened.

However, a while after lunch, Gabriel looked up at Chiaki from his spot on the floor and spoke. "Hey, Chiaki?"

Chiaki took her headphones off, letting them rest around her neck, and turned her head to look at him. "Huh? What is it?"

"What do you say we go rent a movie and watch together, all three of us?" He grinned after he said this, and Chiaki couldn't really resist the look he gave.

"That sounds like a good idea!" She agreed, enthusiastically. She did feel like doing something different, anyways.

"Yay! Wanna go now?" He asked her, closing the book and putting it aside.

"Ah, alright. But the best place to rent movies is actually pretty far…it's over at this…big mall. Hmm, I don't usually go there, I'll find out the directions if you want."

"Really? Cool! That makes it all the more fun! I'll go get Samuru!"

He stood up and ran out the door, as Chiaki sighed, knowing that more new and interesting events might as well happen between her and these two.

It turned out Samuru was the one to travel solo, again. Chiaki held onto the back of Gabriel's shirt for the second time, and fussed with the piece of paper in her other hand, which could've gone flying away at any moment.

"Maybe printing the directions out wasn't such a good idea…" Gabriel said, worriedly.

"Ahaha, what else would I do? Write on my arm?" Chiaki said, not really laughing.

"Well, that actually would work…" Gabriel muttered quietly, but then the two realized that they were already at their destination.

Samuru, Gabriel, and Chiaki walked together inside the huge mall. Gabriel was marveled at it. "It's really big!" He said. "Is the place where we rent movies big, too?"

"Hah? Yeah, it is." Chiaki responded. She was also looking around the place as they walked. "I never really get to come here often. I think it's really cool!"

Gabriel looked over at her. "Is that so? Well, maybe sometime we can all go shopping here! Samuru should treat you or something with his money!" He smiled, and looked over at Samuru.

"What?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

Chiaki looked at him as well. "Would you really?" She asked, curious as to whether or not he would really do it.

Samuru crossed his arms and gave a considering look. "Hmm…" He said, plainly. For a second there, Chiaki thought he would agree, but instead, he smiled at her tauntingly. "No way."

Chiaki stuck her tongue out at him. "Stupid." She muttered. Gabriel chuckled, and Samuru gave a sort of proud snicker. Chiaki then smiled at the two of them.

They soon found the place they were looking for, and walked inside.

"What kind of movie do you want to get, Chiaki?" Gabriel asked her, looking around at the racks of DVDs.

"Hmm…it doesn't really matter."

"Samuru?"

"I don't care, either."

"Alright. I'm choosing then! Go buy popcorn and stuff, Samuru!"

Samuru nodded. "Fine, fine. Come on, Chiaki. A little girl like you can get lost very easily."

Chiaki puffed up her cheeks. "H-hey! Don't say that!" She exclaimed, as she caught up to him and walked by his side.

"Oh? Then why did you come?"

"Wh-…Hey!"

Chiaki and Samuru were both sitting down, waiting for Gabriel. Samuru held the bag of popcorn packets, candy, and soda, and Chiaki did nothing but watch people go by. "Hey, Samuru. Does Gabriel take very long to choose a movie?"

"Huh? Eh…well, I don't know. I've never rented movies with him before or anything."

"Hm…"

_Samuru's not so bad. _Chiaki thought to herself, as she sneaked a look at his expressionless face with her peripherals. _He and I can talk to each other a little now…but he doesn't express himself often. And he doesn't act all nice and friendly like Gabriel does. I wonder what's up with him?_

"You're not so bad once you open up a little." Chiaki said frankly, wondering how he would respond to a straightforward remark.

"Huh? Am I bad in the first place?" He asked her, teasingly.

"Haha, don't act like you don't know how mean you are! Do you have some sort of grudge against me?"

Samuru paused.

"You're just a stupid girl." He said grinning. Chiaki opened her mouth to say something back at him, but was interrupted by a loud "Dooonnee!" by Gabriel.

He had finally came out of the store with a small DVD case in his hand.

Samuru stood up. "What did you get?"

"You'll find out soon enough! Let's go!" Gabriel started running enthusiastically ahead.

Samuru walked quickly after him, Chiaki beside him. "Geez. That Gabriel."

Chiaki laughed, and then the two started running to catch up with him.

They soon came home, and once they were inside the house, Gabriel ran to the TV. "Eh? How do you put this in? I've never used a TV before…"

Samuru came over behind him. "Ahaha, wow Gabriel. I'll do it. Here, move over." He then turned over to look at Chiaki, and handed her the bag. "Get everything ready. I'm actually hungry now."

Chiaki took the bag and walked to the kitchen, opening the cupboards and getting bowls out. "Stupid Samuru. He didn't even say 'please.'" She shook her head and sighed, trying to ignore his lack of manners.

"Gabriel! Why did you get this! I hate you!" She heard Samuru say scornfully. Gabriel was laughing.

Chiaki wanted to ask what it was, but decided she would just wait. Surprises were nice, anyway. The microwave beeped, and she poured the popcorn into the bowl. After, she prepared the rest of the food.

She soon finished, and placed the food on the table in front of them, then seating herself between Samuru and Gabriel. Samuru had an upset look on his face, as he leaned on the arm of the sofa and gave a small "Hmph…I really hate you, Gabriel…" Gabriel stood up and ran to the lights, then turning them off. He then returned to the sofa and sat down, playing the movie.

"Do you like horror movies, Chiaki?" He asked, trying to sound scary.

"Wh-what? This is a horror movie?" She said, frantically. She put her feet on the sofa, hugging her knees, and stared at the screen, as freaky music began to play. "I h-hate…horror movies…"

Gabriel looked at Samuru and laughed at him, who didn't look like he wanted to watch the movie. "Don't worry, Chiaki! I'll protect you from the scary things that might jump out of the screen! Ahahaha!" He put a hand on her head as she shivered with fear. But in the midst of her emotions, she also had the curious thought of if Samuru was scared of horror movies or something.

The rest of the movie didn't go so well. Samuru was really displeased the whole way, for some odd reason, Gabriel was happily munching on popcorn and drinking soda, fearless, and Chiaki would always whimper or scream at the frightening moments (and even the not so frightening moments) and cling on to Gabriel in horror.

"I cannot believe you, Gabriel!" Chiaki even said once, after screaming at a mutilated-faced girl popping up on the screen. "I'm not going to survive through this movie!"

Samuru agreed with her. "Me neither! You're so stupid, Gabriel!" Gabriel laughed at the two of them. "Anyone else want popcorn?"

The movie did end soon, and by then it was almost midnight. "Ahaha! Remember that part in the movie, Chiaki?" Gabriel said, as they all cleaned up. "When the old lady came out at… MIDNIGHT! What if that's really real?" Chiaki looked at him with a pout on her face.

"S-stop it…"

Samuru put the popcorn bowl in the sink with a loud clanking noise. "Hey, anyways. It's time for bed now. Go to sleep already, ok?"

Chiaki nodded, hoping to be rid of her fears, and made her way towards the stairs.

She stopped, however, and looked back and Gabriel. "H-h-ey…could you please…"—and she felt stupid for saying this—"come with me upst-stairs…"

Gabriel laughed and walked to her without hesitation, much to her satisfaction. On the way, throwing the popcorn bits he had wiped from the table into the garbage.

Chiaki shuddered, as she lay in her bed. There was complete silence, which made everything more eerie. She looked over at the alarm clock.

12:06 PM

It was past twelve already…good…but, wait…but didn't the ghost girl come back at 12:13?

Chiaki wanted to fall asleep already, but her lingering thoughts kept her wide awake. She was really scared now, as the house was making strange cracking noises…

Footsteps? Were those footsteps in the hallway she heard?

_No way, no way! _Chiaki thought to herself, as she held tighter onto the blanket. _This can't be real!_

The footsteps got louder and louder…louder and louder…even louder…

Until they were right at her door…

They had stopped there.

Her heart stopped beating, as she wondering what would happen next.

The door swung open loudly, and Chiaki gasped and looked over at it instantly.

"Stupid." Came the voice…

of Samuru.

It was only Samuru. She sat up and watched as he entered the room, relieved, but confused as to why he was visiting her at this moment. Moonlight from the window shone on him, and Chiaki noticed he was staggering a little, strangely enough. "Stop being so scared." He told her. He came around to the other side of the bed and sat down.

Chiaki stared at him. "S-Samuru? Why did you…"

"Will you ease up a bit and be less afraid if I stay here?"

Chiaki gave an immediate doubtful expression. Not at his offer, but at his sudden change of expression. "What?" There was no way he would…

"Hey, hey. I'm only gonna sit here until you fall asleep, ok? Just stop being so freaked out for me, will ya?"

Chiaki was confused. Very confused. He was actually acting sorta…nice. And the way he spoke…it sounded like he was…

"Alright. Fine…" She told him, deciding it wasn't so bad, and it _did_ ease her up a bit.

She lay down on her side and looked at him, resting her elbow on the bed and putting her head onto her hand. He sat quietly on the edge, facing the window. "What's up with you?" She asked him, finally wanting to just get to the bottom of this. Samuru could hear exactly what she wanted in her voice, and gave a quiet gentle chuckle.

"You never asked me what my ability was, did you?" He told her. She remained staring at him, intent on finding out what was going on, as he stared ahead of him, looking at the moon.

She didn't answer, and he continued, in a low voice.

"Did you know that my ability enables me to sense whenever you're scared?"

Chiaki thought back, and then realized a lot of things. She didn't say anything, however, and waited for him to continue.

"But it's a little complicated, y'know…"

"Wh…complicated?"

"Yeah. Actually, whenever you're scared, it hurts me."

"…Hurts you?" Chiaki asked him, not knowing what he meant.

Samuru turned his head away from her. "I dunno, there's a weird, sharp, pain in my chest whenever it happens. It's more and more painful depending on your fear."

Chiaki lowered her gaze, and looked down. "I'm sorry. I get scared easily a lot, right? So I've been hurting you all along. Is that why you don't like me so much…"

Samuru gave a sad smile, and hesitated before he spoke. "It's not your fault. It's not really supposed to hurt me…it's just that…" He paused for a second, before uttering his next words. "It's a way of punishment. For doing what I did when I was alive."

Chiaki drew a quivering breath, fearful of the answer to what she would say. "What did you do?"

"I killed myself."

Chiaki's eyebrows came together, as she harbored mixed feelings for what he was saying. "I grew up in a bad community." He told her. "Bad things happened all the time in my neighborhood. Fights, robberies, murders, you name it. My mom and dad were poor, so they couldn't afford to move to a new place…but they always tried their best to keep our family going."

He gave a sad sigh. "One day, it got really bad. I dunno, the whole neighborhood just broke loose into chaos. You could hear all this glass breaking, and screaming and yelling…you could hear fights breaking out, and blood spattering everywhere. Gunshots kept firing, and people's houses were being broken into."

Chiaki tried to picture it all, and could feel that Samuru was having a hard time looking back at it.

"We were all sitting in the darkness of the only room we had for sleeping. We had closed all the windows and locked all the doors. We didn't hear any sirens or anything, so my mom decided to go and call the police, for the sake of everyone and everything. The phone was in the kitchen, though, so I kept pleading for her not to go, but eventually, my dad said he'd go with her and protect her, so I wouldn't worry. 'Don't say a word until we come back.' My mom whispered to me. She smiled as she silently left the room, locking the door behind her. I crawled under the bed, scared, and listened to what was going on. I heard something soon enough. The sound of people entering the house, the sound of yelling, the sound of someone being flung across the room. I recognized the voice of my mom, screaming muffled words, but she soon grew quiet, as banging and thrashing noises became louder. This was too much for me. I couldn't bear the pain that came along with all the fear I had. You know that feeling when you just don't want to be where you are? Like you just want to…disappear? While I was thinking about it, I saw it—the case where my dad kept the gun. I pulled it over, opened it, and saw that it was still there. There were bullets in it, so I held it to my head and—"

Samuru stopped speaking. _Is he going to cry? _Chiaki thought to herself, watching him sadly. He continued, with a broken voice.

"A-anyways, just…it's not your fault, ok? It's mine…committing suicide is a sin, and I've got to pay the price. I'm lucky I got to heaven in the first place. But y'know…it's just…try and be a little less—"

His words were immediately cut off, when he felt Chiaki hugging him from behind. She was on her knees, her chin on his neck, and her eyes were closed.

Samuru's eyes were wide.

Slowly, faintly, she gave a gentle smile. "Stupid Samuru. You should've told me earlier.

…don't worry about it, I'll try. I'll try."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, as he looked down at the ground. "Ok?"

"Ok…"

Meanwhile, Gabriel stood outside the door, and smiled, knowing that the wall between them was at least a little broken.


	8. Of Sun and Naming

_A/N: Hurrah. A prologue~ I hate this chapter with a passion =_= Honestly. But I hope you will have at least a sliver of love for it._

_By the way, because this story was originally visualized in Japan, they speak Japanese, too. That's why "Gabriel" is apparently "hard to pronounce".  
_

**Chapter 8 Prologue: Grains of Sand**

"Really? We're going somewhere again?" Chiaki asked the two of them, as they sat at the table and ate breakfast together.

"Ahaha, yeah! Well…only if you want to! It's just that we haven't gone out for a while…" Gabriel replied. "Do you want to go to the beach?"

Chiaki's shoulders hunched a bit in surprise. "Huh? I...really?"

"Yeah, of course!" Samuru said, his mouth full of food. "C'mon, say yeah! Or else Gabriel won't take us."

Chiaki laughed a bit at what Samuru had said. "Alright, I'd like to go!"

Gabriel gave a big grin. "Yay! Let's go at 10:00! The beach is pretty in the morning, isn't it? And remember your swimsuit!" He stood up excitedly, and began to wash the dishes in a hurry.

Samuru also quickened his eating pace, and he soon got up and put his plate in the sink, proceeding to rush up the stairs.

* * *

"Yay! I'm so glad we're here!" Gabriel exclaimed, raising his arms, as the three of them stood facing the ocean. They all could smell the salty scent being carried towards them through the wind. The beach was full of people, all laughing and smiling and having a good time. The sand was fine and warm as it piled high between their toes.

"Mhmm! I'll go set everything up for you guys!" Chiaki replied.

"You need help?" He asked, bringing his arms down, and turning his head towards her.

"No, no! I'll do it! You guys have fun or whatever!"

"Ok! C'mon Samuru!" The two began taking their shirts off in a rush. Once Chiaki realized this, she looked away immediately, blushing.

She walked over to the clear space she saw, and began taking out their things.

Actually, they had lots of things, and Chiaki found some of them unnecessary to bring. Gabriel had prepared a whole basket of food, Samuru insisted on bringing the radio, and they even brought two umbrellas, because of Samuru's claim that one wouldn't be able to shade them all. Chiaki plunged the two colorful umbrellas into the sand, then lay out the soft towels beneath them (and there were more where that came from.) Put the radio down, not turning it on yet. She then took out the beach ball, and the rest of the water items, including the swimming tubes (which looked ridiculous, why would she even use those things?) There was also what seemed like a huge sand castle set to her, and last but not least, the suntan lotion. She sat down and slathered it onto her, wondering what Gabriel and Samuru would look like after today, because they didn't put any on. She then brushed the thought off, thinking that angels were probably vulnerable to it or something.

Soon after, she decided she'd go and play with them in the water. But wait…her swimsuit.

"Ehhh…" She said to herself, glumly. "I don't want them to see me in a swimsuit!" She embraced herself consciously.

"I don't look bad or anything…it's just…ehhhh…." She gave a frown, and looked up. Gabriel and Samuru were currently at the point where the water only reached up to their knees. They were splashing each other and laughing. Chiaki pouted.

"Hi you guys!" A voice called to Samuru and Gabriel. It sounded quite near. They looked up, bodies quite soaked from the splashing, and…stared.

There stood Chiaki, holding a beach ball with her arms. Her swimsuit looked childlike—practically a bright coloured one piece with some sort of skirt attached to it. Gabriel smiled at her as if there was nothing wrong. Samuru snickered.

"Oof!" Samuru's reaction triggered the throw of the beach ball at his face.

"Wanna play?" Chiaki asked, in a happy tone, as if she didn't do anything at all, just to egg Samuru on.

Gabriel either was oblivious to the atmosphere, or wanted to ignore it, and jumped in the water, descending with a splash. "Yeah! Let's play! You're on my team, Chiaki!"

They started to play, hitting it towards each other in turn, so that it wouldn't hit the water. Chiaki and Gabriel's team did well, although Chiaki actually had to jump high to tackle Samuru's high hits. However, Samuru was better, and in the end, he won.

Because of this, Gabriel decided to punish him in some sort of way. He then decided to grab the sand castle set, and use the shovels to dig a large hole. Chiaki helped, and while she did so, Samuru went to go buy something for them to eat. It took quite a while, and Chiaki noticed a couple girls trying to hit on him. She laughed at this, and thought it was an even better idea to dig the whole. When Gabriel and Chiaki were finished, Gabriel forced Samuru to go inside, and without hesitation, Samuru agreed. "I don't really care." He stated, as they proceeded to bury him up again.

As Samuru lay there, boredly, Chiaki and Gabriel went far away from him-to where their umbrella and towels were—and built a sandcastle together, using water from the ocean collected in their bucket. They also ate the food that Samuru had brought. With full stomachs, they had finally finished. The castle looked quite…saggy and marvelous, and the two almost forgot about Samuru. When they looked back, a couple girls—whom Chiaki recognized were the ones flirting with him earlier at the food stand—were standing around him, sand sticking to their wet bodies, and Samuru was already out. Chiaki inferred that they had helped him, hoping to get recognized or something. She looked at his face—he seemed to not care so much, but he definitely wasn't annoyed or anything. Gabriel's eyebrows came together in amusement. "Haha, Samuru! Those girls probably think he's hot or something!" Chiaki giggled. The girls kept trying to talk to him, and Chiaki even heard "phone number" and "email" in their scattered attempts.

"Hey, let's go bother him." Gabriel suggested, getting up and gesturing for Chiaki to do the same.

Chiaki nodded, wanting to see how this would turn out. She wouldn't have to worry about those girls anyway, Samuru and Gabriel were…well, hers, although it was weird to think about using that term. She strided up to the congregation confidently, along with Samuru, a smile across her face. The girls noticed them walking towards them, and their chatter soon became distinct, then silent. Samuru turned around at this, bringing his attention to whatever shut them up. "Oh, it's you guys." He uttered, not seeming to mind them as much as he didn't mind the girls.

"Yes it is!" Gabriel responded happily. Chiaki looked at the girls again. They seemed a bit older than her, they were all in bikinis, and they all wore heavy makeup. They seemed to not care for Gabriel's looks (although Chiaki believed his were better—with his clean cut hair and striking eyes) but were much admiring towards his behaviour. Chiaki decided it was her turn to speak. This was getting fun.

"So you made some friends?" She asked, almost making the impression of a sweet little sister. Some of the girls stared at her endearingly, while some looked at her in disgust, because she seemed familiar with him.

"Yeah! He did!" Exclaimed one girl in a loud voice, seeming to express that she wasn't fond of these two new people interrupting. Samuru looked at the girl with this, but his emotion was not so clear. It was just…concentrated. Chiaki's grin remained.

"I'm not sure what to say about that." Samuru admitted to the two.

"Why don't you introduce us to them?" Chiaki continued, putting aside his comment.

"Yeah, they look like a friendly bunch." Gabriel added.

The girls seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere. They simply stood there, either looking up at Samuru or not knowing what to say, which produced a rather silly twisted look on their faces. Eventually, they just scoffed and left, telling Samuru they'd meet with him later.

After they were far away. Chiaki and Gabriel let go of their still, eerily happy expressions, and started laughing. Samuru looked at them. "Haha, wow you guys. You managed to pull that off. That was kind of funny—the look of their faces." Chiaki smiled, and Gabriel spoke up.

"That's funny. Will they really meet up with you again or something? Did you even care or notice that they were hitting on you?"

"Hmm," Samuru replied. "I knew, but I didn't really care. I just used it to my advantage, so that they could get me out of the sand I was buried in. But they were kinda getting annoying…acting like they knew me and all." He grinned. "Hah, are you jealous or something Chiaki? It's not like you could get some guys to hit on you that way."

"Hey! You suck! I could too!"

Gabriel smiled. "I think you could, Chiaki!" He said, cheerfully. "So you're not meeting with them, Samuru?"

Samuru walked to where the tide was generally sweeping up to, and started walking. Chiaki and Gabriel were following. "No way." He told them. "Well, I hope not. I'm going to stick with you guys, so that they won't come near me."

On their walk, Gabriel, who was amazed at the sand and what was on it, was gathering shells he found pretty. Some of them were actually rocks, but he thought most things were pretty, so he gathered a lot. Chiaki still carried the bucket, and Gabriel would plop his in there after observing them and making a pleased comment. Soon, when they seemed to be pretty far from where they originally started, Samuru had stopped in his tracks. Chiaki stopped and looked at him, Gabriel soon following after. "Hm? What is it, Samuru?" Samuru leaned down and picked up something. Gabriel saw it and gasped in excited amazement.

"Wwhooahh!"

Chiaki looked over at it: It was a shell. Gabriel clasped his hands together.

"What's that, Samuru? It's so cool!" He told him.

Samuru turned it around, observing it. "It's a conch shell." He pointed out, still observing it. It was creamy orange swirled with a pure white. It looked perfectly smooth, perfectly shaped. No signs of cracks or chips were shown whatsoever. Samuru held the opened part to Gabriel's ear. "You can hear the ocean in it, y'know." The scene seemed to have the potential to look completely endearing, but Samuru's tone of voice was bland and didn't do anything for that. After Gabriel chuckled a bit with a pleased smile, he crouched a little and held it to Chiaki's. Chiaki listened to it intently. It sounded calm and quiet. She stood there, concentrated on hearing the sound…

"What's that face?" Samuru asked her, laughing. He took the shell away, and dropped it in the bucket. "It's just a shell, Chiaki." He retorted. He was teasing her again, but it was quite friendly, and Chiaki smiled in a sort of bittersweet way.

"Hey! I thought it was really cool, ok _Samuru?_"

Gabriel chuckled. "It sounds weird, how you guys are using each others' names. It's nice though!"

"Eh, whatever." Samuru responded.

"Kind of true…_Gabriel!_" Chiaki joked. She smiled…then tilted her head. "Hey…Gabriel is kind of hard to pronounce, isn't it?" Gabriel gave her a look of curiosity. "Huh? Well maybe…I guess."

Samuru nodded. "I agree. It's pretty foreign-sounding."

Gabriel grinned, and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, yeah! It's also long, but…eh."

Chiaki shrugged. "Ga…gabu."

The two looked at her. "What?" Samuru asked.

Chiaki smiled. "Gabu! It's just part of your name, but it sounds nice! And it's easier to say." She smiled again. Gabriel mirrored her expression.

"I like it! Ok, you guys…I'm now GABU!" He dramatically stated.

"Agreed!" Chiaki exclaimed, playing along with the emotion in his words.

"Heh, maybe…" Samuru said. He repeated it to himself: "Hmm…Gabu…Gabu…Gabu…"

"And Sammy!" Chiaki said, pointing at him.

"What was that?" He responded.

"Sammy! That should be your nickname!"

Samuru stared at her in contemplation.

"Yeah! Sammy!" Gabu said, hands up in the air. "It's Sammy!"

"Why are we thinking of nicknames again?" Sammy asked, refusing. "It sounds a little stupid…" Gabu pouted.

"Please…please…please!"

Sammy gave in. "Fine, fine."

They all talked to each other then, trying to practice getting their names right. And soon after, they walked back to their umbrellas and towels.

They had started relaxing, laying down underneath the shade of their umbrellas. They listened to the radio, with the latest music played in what seemed like a new addition—static.

It seemed like they would be too tired to play or do anything anymore, but soon they got up and started drawing things in the sand with sticks and stuff they found. They soon felt like most of the beach was filled with their scrawls, although it was only a small portion. Sammy decided to decorate his writings with some of the shells they collected. Gabu soon followed his idea, but Chiaki had other plans and decided to use them for the sand castle they had made.

They had spent the whole day at the beach, but stayed just a bit longer to watch the sunset fall before they gathered their things and left. Gabu thought it was amazing, and described it like a "warm, fluffy oven!" Which didn't make so much sense, but it was actually a little true to Chiaki. Sammy seemed to like it too, giving a small smile as it shone its brightest before descending down, slipping into the horizon. The day had left, leaving a pile of new memories.


	9. Sorts of Confessions

_A/N: Eww it's Jun! He's such a jerk. But that's why I love him so much :D He's got this one annoying habit...read on.  
_

"Chiaki?" Gabu asked, wiping his wet hands of shirt, now free of dishwashing. Chiaki was sitting at the table, trying hard to somehow get through her summer homework.

"Eehh?" She asked, sounding somewhat nasal. She slumped down and rested her head on the table, then proceeding to swing her legs back and forth. Gabu walked to her and put his hand next to her head, then leaning sideways and looking into her eyes. "Chiiiaakkiii. How're you feeling?" His tone expressed concernment.

"I'm bored." Chiaki replied, straight out. She then turned her head and looked at him. "Huh…you should know…" Gabu laughed, and put his hand on Chiaki's head.

"Yeah, I know. Listen, I know you don't like your summer homework…"

"But I have to do it?" She continued for him, her question sounding like a firm statement.

Gabu laughed again. "Well, if you want to. But I was about to propose another plan. I don't want to stay stuck here in the house, either."

Chiaki brought herself up, sitting straight, and looked at him. The dull look in her had vanished away from her face. "Ah? We can go somewhere?"

Gabu nodded. "What do you say we surprise Sammy?"

Chiaki smiled at the thought. He was currently working. He had been working more and more lately, because of the growing annoyance of having to ride with Gabu or use some other means of transportation at times. "Yes, yes, yes! Please!"

Gabu seemed utterly pleased with her enthusiastic agreement. "Great!" He exclaimed. "Go and get ready, then! I wanna use the motorcycle…but the grocery store he works at isn't so far away from here, is it?" Chiaki nodded. He had been traveling around a lot, so he had gotten accustomed to the area.

"Nope! And I'm ready already! Let's go!" She got up, and they both headed to the door.

"Y'know, we actually do need to go shopping for a couple stuff…" Gabu pointed out, as they were nearing the store.

"Really?" Chiaki asked, looking up at him.

"Mhmm! Let me try to remember…"

They were soon right in front of the store entrance. They had both stopped simultaneously in front of the automatic doors, but were far enough so that they wouldn't open. They were both thinking the same thing, and squinted to look inside if Sammy was there.

Chiaki gave a small half chuckle, and looked down. Gabu looked at her, then at the store again. "Huh? What? Is Sammy there?" He moved side to side a bit, trying to find him.

Chiaki pointed, indicating Sammy's location. "Right…right there…See? He looks so weird! I didn't know he could do stuff like that…" Gabu's eyes seemed to have caught him.

"Ahh! Aahh, there he is." Chiaki watched him, wanting to see his reaction. Gabu was staring curiously, observing what was going on…then a smile started to grow. Chiaki laughed at this. "He does look weird!" Gabu agreed. "He looks like he's saying 'Would you like me to bag that for you?'….Hahaha! The lady has a funny aura. I think she's saying 'No thank you!'" Now she's taking her bags and coming over…Aaahh!" Gabu ran to the bushes near the door. Chiaki, in panic, ran to him.

"Gabu! What are you doing?" She looked at him confusedly, as he crouched down behind the small bush.

"Crouch too! Crouch too!" He said, frantically, gesturing with an up and down motion of his hand.

Chiaki had a small moment of hesitation, then crouched down slowly next to him. Just as she did, the doors automatically slid open, and woman who Sammy had attended to walked out of the store.

Gabu and Chiaki, well hidden, peeked out from the bushes and looked at Sammy. He was staring at the woman walking away as if he was glad that she was leaving. "He's probably offended that the woman didn't want his help." Gabu assumed, silently.

Chiaki nodded. "Maybe it's because he's all punky looking."

Gabu tried to laugh quietly.

"Hey." Chiaki whispered again. "We're hiding from Sammy, right? Are we going to go surprise him now?"

Gabu then looked around, as if he were looking for something important. "Nooo," He said, crawling around the small area, searching. "We'll surprise him when we're done grocery shopping, ok? That will be more fun! I need to find out if there's a…secret passageway or something!" Chiaki chuckled at this.

"I don't think there would be any around…let's try the backdoor? If there is one…"

Gabu sprung up instantly. "Good idea!" He then got up sneakily, and the two walked towards the back of the store.

Apparently, the back door was easy to find, and better yet, open. "Lucky!" Gabu had exclaimed quite loudly, as they entered. They then made their way into the isle, shopping for the necessary items they needed. Killing time as needed until it was the end of Sammy's shift.

They had to hold everything however, which was somewhat difficult. They couldn't have gotten a cart, because it was at the very front of the store, right in front of the cash registers.

Chiaki was currently engaged in a humorous conversation with Gabu as they walked, when she heard familiar voices in the isle next to them. She slowed down her walking, which made Gabu slow down too.

Gabu opened his mouth to ask Chiaki why she had slowed down all of a sudden, when a boy's voice interrupted him.

"Eh? Chiaki?" It said.

Both Chiaki and Gabu looked up. The boy looked about Chiaki's age, maybe a little older. He walked over to her, smiling. "Ah, hey Chiaki! I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Jun!" Chiaki said, warmly. She took a step towards the boy, then remembered Gabu was there, and looked back at him quickly, unnerved.

Jun seemed to take note of the same thing. "Ahhhh?" He tilted his head at Gabu, indicating the question of who he was.

"Oh! Oh…" Chiaki said in response, standing a little straighter. "Um…this is…umm…" She looked at Gabu, then looked back at him. "This is my cousin! His name's…Michi!" Gabu looked at her, surprised, but then sensed her aura, and looked at the boy with a friendly smile.

"Hello there!" He greeted, holding a hand out. The boy smiled and ran a hand through his neat dark hair, then took Gabu's hand to shake it.

"So you're a friend of Chiaki's?" Gabu asked, as he let go of his hand.

"Uhh…yeah, I guess." He replied, running a hand through his hair again.

"Cool!"

"Cool…?"  
Footsteps came from behind. And before Chiaki and Gabu could turn around, noticing that they were in the way, they heard a "Whoooah, ok!" They swiftly looked at Sammy, already knowing it was him because of the voice. "Ok, ok, ok." Sammy said, sounding like he was trying to control himself from lashing out at the fact that they were there. "Whhyy…are you guys here?" He asked, then.

Gabu's eyes brightened. "Sammy! Surprise!"

Jun looked over at Chiaki. "You know him?"

Chiaki looked down, nervous. "Uhhh…well…" She wasn't able to even stutter at the next word, when Jun took her wrist and brought her away, to the next isle. She heard Gabu and Sammy say something in surprise at this, but they didn't follow her.

In the next isle, Chiaki's eyes were somewhat wide at Jun's action.

"Ha, sorry!" Jun apologized, the hand that had held her wrist now at the back of his head.

"It's…it's ok." Chiaki said.

"I just…really felt like talking to you, you know! Summer's dragging out kinda…I haven't really been able to see anyone from school!"

"Oh…is that so?" Chiaki smiled, trying to act more friendly and less nervous.

"Yeah! So…how has everything been? I remember you saying your family was gonna be away for a while…"

"Yeah, yeah! They left already. It's sorta lonely, you know? But my cousin…he's there!"

"Oh, you mean Michi?" He looked down and scratched behind his ear. "Hey, who's the other guy?" He had a distinct tone of not appreciating that Sammy had come, or something like that. Chiaki realized this, and brewed up another lie. "He's…..he's….a really good friend of Ga—Michi's! They came over here together…they were staying over at Osaka for quite some time, you know! To study and all…"

Jun grinned. "I see!" Chiaki noticed that he had a little bit of doubt, and had the sudden need to heave a sigh.

She wanted to say something else, but suddenly, Sammy was standing next to her. Gabu came along soon after. Jun gave a skeptical look at the two, but he wasn't able to say anything, for Sammy was the one who grabbed her wrist this time, and brought her to a farther away isle. Gabu bowed and apologized before they left. Chiaki stuttered a variety of different ought-to-be words, but then hastily said "Wait there for a sec, please!"

"What are you guys doing?" She asked Sammy and Gabu, after Sammy let go of her. She was clearly upset.

Sammy's arms were crossed, and a stern look was on his face. "Who is that kid?" He asked her. "I mean…it's not like we care or anything. It's just that he must be some guy to grab you like that and bring you off when we're there."

Chiaki's eyes narrowed slightly. "Well you must be some guy too, then. That was…"

"Tell me about that kid." He insisted, firmly.

Chiaki's eyes were still narrowed. Her eyes shifted to Gabu, who's eyes were wide with inquisition. However, his hands were in his pockets, being more calm about the matter. She then looked at Sammy, feeling angry with him, then looked at Gabu again. Gabu was staring at her, in the way that he did when he read her aura. He leaned over, and turned his head, knowing that Chiaki didn't want to tell Sammy. Chiaki stood on her toes and whispered in his ear, Sammy gritting his teeth at this. He watched, as Gabu smiled. He returned from his leaning position. "Ahaha! Chiaki! I knew it…I sensed some of it in your aura earlier, but I wasn't so sure! So that's it…"

Sammy seemed to get it. "Oh, you **like** this kid?" He asked her, disgusted with the fact.

Chiaki was disappointed that Sammy had found out, but nodded. "So…can I just…"

"Wow. I can't believe you like that kid. Gabu told me you even made up a weird lie about him. So you're doing that just for that Jun kid?"

Chiaki's expression finally changed. They were a little ashamed, as they looked up at Gabu. "S-sorry…It's just that…you know…everything would be hard to explain…I mean two guys who seem really familiar with me. I was thinking that…_he_ would think."

Gabu gave a gentle smile. "It's ok, Chiaki. Who's Sammy, then?"

She replied, a little embarrassed. "Your best friend, apparently. You're both from Osaka. You were studying there."

Sammy nodded slowly, with an annoyed look to it. Gabu spoke before Sammy could say anything.

"Well, look Chiaki. I don't want to make you…well…it's just that I was looking at Jun's aura…and…"

Chiaki sensed someone coming into the isle. She looked back. Jun was there again. "Oh! Sorry…" She said, hastily, giving only a small glance back at the two. "I'm…done talking now…" She walked over to him, and the two made their way to different isles again.

"Chiaki…..I'm sorta…confused at those two." Jun said, his hand through his hair for yet another time. He didn't sound confused however, he seemed disappointed…or disgusted. Chiaki couldn't tell.

"Hmm…" She responded. She didn't like it that she had to answer that way, but her mind was clouded by what Gabu had said.

_"…it's just that I was looking at Jun's aura…and…"_

She stiffened.

_And he seemed like he didn't want to upset me…what was he going to say…_

_ Does Jun really not like me or something?_

"Chiaki? You ok?" He asked, leaning over to look at her eyes, which were facing down at the ground.

She was about to respond, but his hand was pressed against her forehead.

She gave a small sound of surprise, and turned red.

"You're not sick, are you?" He asked her. "I don't want to keep you talking here if you're sick…"

Chiaki shook her head. "No, no…I'm not…thank you!"

_But he's so nice…I'm sure he doesn't _dislike_ me…_

Jun gave her a smile, and took his hand off her head, running it through his hair.

"Alright, then. Well—  
"Chiaki! Is it ok if…" Gabu and Sammy appeared yet again.

Chiaki gave a discreet sigh. _Let's see…what's wrong with this picture?_

She looked at Jun, but was shocked to see that his sweet, kind expression had suddenly changed, as if by magic, into a cold, angry stare.

"You guys…" Jun said, his voice seeming to be lower.

Sammy mirrored his look, except it was all the more harsh. Jun seemed to not be so affected by this, and continued. "Don't you see that Chiaki doesn't want to talk to you right now? Leave her alone." This sounded extremely bitter, as he said it, no sign of respect or hesitation whatsoever. "Idiots." He finished.

Chiaki's eyes widened at once. Gabu's seemed to narrow with sadness…although, his sadness was geared towards Chiaki's it seemed. Chiaki wanted to say something, but no words could come out. Sammy tilted his head outwards, indicating a sign to Gabu that they should just leave. The two walked away in silence, and Jun remained staring at them until they had disappeared.

He then looked at Chiaki again, and happiness returned to his face.

"Haha, what were we talking about again?"

What Chiaki saw was Jun's entrancing smile. The one she had always come to adore. But this time, it was associated with different feelings. It felt…well, it just felt really different. She didn't know how she felt. She couldn't tell anything.

"What…_were_ we talking about?" She asked, disguising her confusion with a casual friendly tone.

"Ahh, we both can't remember can we? Oh well…hey, did you work on your summer homework?"

"I was actually working on it this morning!" She replied, proud of herself that she had started already.

"Really? I haven't started at all…" Jun told her, looking up in consideration.

Chiaki tried to give a cheerful smile.

"But that's really cool that you already started, Chiaki!" He continued. "You've always been pretty smart…I'm jealous." Chiaki blushed.

"Oh…really? Well thanks!"

"No problem. But really…" He took her shoulder and leaned close enough so that he was whispering in her ear, his cheek against hers. "It's not so hard to compliment you." He grinned, and drew back to his original position.

Chiaki blushed madly, turning a washed out strawberry pink. "W-w-well…thank you again!" She looked down so he wouldn't see her flushed face.

"Hah, you look cute when you're nervous like that. Hey, Chiaki…"

Chiaki was thinking to herself. That feeling before…was it still here? Her emotions were building up on her…and she felt as if she was looking down at the ground for longer than she should be…Her eyes suddenly widened in realization…

She looked up. "Jun!" She said, loudly.

Jun gave her a surprised glance. "Eh?"

"I mean…Jun…I just remembered something. I actually have something to do today…I have to g-go…" She turned around and started to walk away.

Apparently, Gabu and Sammy were leaving at the same time, and as she crossed their path. She nodded, and spoke. "C'mon you guys. I'm done."

Gabu smiled and walked by her. Sammy was still angry at Chiaki, but walked somewhat beside her, too. His arms were still crossed.

"My shift's done. So let's just go home." He muttered, almost too quiet.

Gabu grinned. "Really? Yay!" He looked down at her. "We were just walking around looking for you, Chiaki!" He told her.

Chiaki smiled. "Really? Thanks you guys…"

They were just about to walk through the automatic doors, when a voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Chiaki!"

They all spun around. It was Jun again. His face wasn't friendly _or_ cold however. It looked hesitant, nervous…was he blushing?

Sammy grimaced. "It's you again. What do you want, kid?"

Jun's expression didn't change at all. He was staring at Chiaki, who had a surprised look on her face.

"Ch-chiaki…!"

Chiaki wasn't sure how she should respond to this. He was showing yet another side to him. "What is it?" She finally said.

Jun took a deep breath, and ran his hand through his hair another time.

"Chiaki! I like you!"

….

..….

…..…

Had it just suddenly become silent? Chiaki saw from her peripherals that Sammy and Gabu expressed looks of complete shock. Her own face, however, remained calm. She blinked, then looked at him.

"Jun…" She said, smiling.

Jun stared at her, awaiting her response. Eager.

"I'm sorry, but I don't like you back."

Jun's expression had become broken, yet confused. Sammy's and Gabu's seemed to be…even more shocked. Chiaki didn't wait for anyone to say anything, she turned around and walked out the door.

"Bye!" She said, waving cheerfully, as if he hadn't confessed at all.

And the three of them walked out the door.

* * *

**Chapter 9.5: A Different Sort of Confession**

"Chiaki!" Gabu exclaimed in surprise, as the three were crossing the street.

"Eh? Yeah?" She asked, curiously, as if nothing of extreme importance had really happened.

"You…why did you…I mean, I thought you…!"

Chiaki looked up at him and smiled. "Well, not anymore apparently."

"Why?" He seemed sort of upset at her response.

"Simple. He was being so stupid to you guys. What an idiot." Her tone indicated that she was pleased saying this about him.

"You guys are better than him. Even you Sammy, despite how you're all mad at me."

Sammy uncrossed his arms. "Hey, I had a really good reason to be mad at you." He sighed, then spoke again. "But I guess it's ok now. At least you gave me the satisfaction of seeing that little brat's rejected face. Haha. He can just go home to his mommy or something. Run his hand through his hair or whatever."

Chiaki laughed. "Yeah, he should!" Gabu joined in the laughter, and soon they all were laughing together (Although Sammy's was just one or two low "Ha."'s, which didn't sound like after all too much.) When Chiaki's laughter had finally faded, she straightened up. "Yeah…I think maybe…I'd rather be with you guys than with him, you know?"

She looked down, a little sheepish at what she had just said. Gabu smiled proudly at her. Sammy smirked. "Kiss up."

"Hey!"


	10. Dripping Rain

_A/N: 'Tis like, my favourite chapter. Enjoy~_

The rain was pounding heavily onto the windows, _tap, tap, tapping _monotonously. The skies were grey and cloudy, and were growing darker and darker by the moment.

"Hey Gabu. Where's Chiaki?" Sammy asked. It didn't even sound like he was curious, however. His tone was dull, seeming to match the atmosphere outside.

Gabu was at the moment, watching TV—something he didn't usually do. Sammy noticed that it was some sort of soap opera.

"Huh? Chiaki?" Gabu repeated. "She's…she's working right now. She's at her job. Yeah." He was clearly trying to answer the question quickly, for he was into the show he was watching.

It was currently playing dramatic music, and showing a display of ocean waves crashing against a cliff.

"Oh, ok." Sammy responded. He was about to walk away, when he noticed Gabu's eyes.

"What? Are you crying, Gabu?" He asked, astonished. He leaned down and turned his head to try to see his eyes clearer.

"N-no!" Gabu replied instantly. He looked away from Sammy. "Sammy…let me watch this in peace…It's not like you care about this stuff."

Sammy gave a somewhat amused laugh. "Whatever you say." He said, and walked off to the refrigerator, looking for something to eat.

Chiaki gave a small groan, as she watched the cashier scan the multiple items she was buying, his face bored and empty. She had just finished her shift, and decided to buy some groceries. _With Gabu and Sammy around, the food gets used up so easily…sheesh. _She shook her head at the ground, but then smiled and thanked the cashier when he stated the total (although inside of her, she was surprised with the large amount of money she would have to spend.) She took out her wallet, paid him, and proceeded to carrying the two plastic grocery bags in her hand.

Walking out the door, Chiaki looked up and sighed. The rain was pouring harder than when she last was outside. "I wish I'd found my umbrella…" She told herself. But she was almost late to work, so she didn't have time to look for it more. "Oh well." She declared. "Home's not too far away." She trudged on, icy drops pelting her head.

_"I had a good friend before…she told me a story one time on a rainy day like this…"_

Walking along the sidewalk, Chiaki remembered a story her grandmother told her once when she was in 1st grade.

_"There's this ghost that comes out only when it's raining."_

Chiaki knew that she hated ghost stories. They had always frightened her.

_"It doesn't have a face, really. It's just a flickering ball of light. But I've heard that when it appears, even it doesn't _look_ scary…it _feels _very…very…eerie."_

She shivered a little. But she thought to herself that it was only the cold rain.

_"When it appears to you, it will start floating away…very slowly…and you'll have to follow it."_

She remembered what she said when she was younger. "I won't _hav_e to follow it."

_"Oh, but you will. See, the ghost has such a strong power, you won't be able to resist following it, whatever you do. Your feet will just start moving towards it. And then it will lead you somewhere…guess where? It will lead you to a place where you will surely DIE—_

_ HOONNKKK!_

Chiaki jumped a little. A nearby car had honked just as it passed her. She noticed that the ground beneath her was becoming filled with rain. It was actually quite slippery.

"Calm down!" She demanded to herself, closing her eyes. "It's just a story. No need to be…" She looked up at the sign blinking ahead of her. It was time to walk across the crosswalk. There were really no cars around at the moment anymore, which sent a chill down her spine. The area looked as empty as the sky above her. She walked across, breathing shakily. She was focusing on letting go of her fear.

A car screeched loudly. She looked up at it, its blaring lights shining in her face, coming closer and closer at an uncontrollable speed.

It all happened fast—in the back of her mind, she knew that the driver wasn't going to slow down for her.

Someone grabbed her. She felt warm in that person's grasp, as the person leaped to dodge the out of control car in a flash…

The two were on the sidewalk now, her on top of that someone…Chiaki heard now that it was a boy, from the sound of his heavy breathing. Her head was on his chest, and instead of holding onto grocery bags, she was holding tightly onto his shirt.

Where was the rain? She didn't feel anything pelting on her head anymore. She looked up now, and sat up straight. There was an umbrella being held over her head, and looking down at the ground, she saw Sammy laying there, blood trickling down his forehead.

"Sammy!" She exclaimed, once she recognized who she was. He heard her voice, and sat up, rubbing his back with his unoccupied hand.

"Good. You survived." He replied, sounding a little bit pained.

"Stupid! How about you? Why did you do that? You could've—"

"_You _could've." He corrected, as he hit her forehead gently with the heel of his hand. He stood up, putting the umbrella in Chiaki's hand, and looked at the soaking plastic bags next to them, food scattered all over the place. He wiped some blood off his forehead, and started picking things up. Chiaki stared, and noticed that the T-Shirt he was wearing was ripped in the back, his skin scraped. Chiaki gripped the umbrella tightly, then sprung up silently and picked up things next to him. Sammy took both of the grocery bags, and Chiaki held her arm up high to hold the umbrella over both of them.

"You look ridiculous, Chiaki." He said, as he walked down the sidewalk. Chiaki struggled to catch up with him. "I'm fine. Don't let your head get wet."

Chiaki gave him an upset look. "Shut up!"

Sammy looked at her, hearing an unusually intense anger within her exclamation. They both stopped. "Sammy!" She said, looking directly into his eyes. He felt like she was looking through him. Her eyebrows were pressed together in disappointment. "I can't believe you did that! Why did you do that? What if something really bad happened!"

Sammy stared intently, then gave a small chuckle, putting his hand on her head. She was looking down now. "Stupid…stupid…" She muttered.

"Hey, you're lucky, you know? I sensed a little fear a while back…and I know it wasn't really that big, but I went anyway...Anyways, you forgot your umbrella." He seemed to be trying to speak in a somewhat comforting tone. "Don't worry, I'm not that hurt or anything either. Just a little cut on the forehead and scrapes on my back and arms…so…you know…it's not—"

He paused. He saw a tear fall, even if she was hanging her head low enough so that he couldn't see her eyes. "Hey…" He said, rubbing her head a bit. "Are you sure you're ok? You didn't hurt yourself too bad, did you? Not…real bad…?" He sounded uncomfortable with sounding so caring.

"I'm ok…I'm alright…stupid…" She tried wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, still looking down so he wouldn't see. "Thank you…thanks…" She managed to say, in between sniffles.

"Hah. You little idiot." He said. He took his hand off of her head and leaned over a little and smiled crudely. "Don't you remember what Gabu and I said before? We're your guardian angels, and we're going to protect you, no matter what."

Chiaki looked up slowly, and she wasn't crying much anymore. Sammy hit her on the head again. She saw him give an endearing smile, but it was only a flash, as he looked ahead of him quickly after. "We're going home. Come on."

He walked ahead, and Chiaki stood there for a while, watching him, until she caught up.


End file.
